Learning Vocabulary
This page contains a variety of suggestions for how to learn vocabulary. Perhaps some of these will work for you.
Associations
These are associations between Kunwok words and English expressions... the more ridiculous, the more memorable!
- bobo means "goodbye": it sounds like "bye bye"
- kaluk nan means "see you later": think of saying goodbye to someone, and waving a garlic naan
- manmorlak means "Kakadu plum": think of holding a Kakadu plum for "more luck"
- birrhme is "to sweep": think of the sound made by a straw broom as "birrh"
- durndeng is "to return": the first thing you do when returning is turn, which is close to "durn"
- kunyarl is "string": think of "yarn"
You can even do this for parts of words, e.g.:
- man- is the vegetable prefix: think of a man who likes his vegetables (or who behaves like one)
- yi- is the second person marker, you: think of old English "ye"
Move your body
Learn words while moving your body at the same time. You could as a speaker to give commands and you do the action. This is also known as total physical response.
- yidolkka! stand!
- yiyerrka! sit!
- yibirrhmen! sweep!
- yiborledmen! turn around!
- yilobmen! run!
- yiborrkkemen! dance!
Paraphrases
Longer Kunwok words may jonsist of several parts, like a noun and a verb, e.g. English: haircut, weekend, daydream, fingerprint. Look at the following... see how predictable the meaning is:
- kebkan: kunkeb "nose" + kan "to get" = sniff out (as in hunting with dogs)
- karekarrme: kare "old" + karrme "have" = save for later
- kangerayekwon: kunkange "heart, emotion" + rayekwon "make strong" = encourage
Sentences
Memorising whole sentences is a great way to learn vocabulary. You can then construct new sentences by substituting words.
- yuwn yikilekme mako "don't touch the gun"
- duruk nganbayeng "the dog bit me"
Templates
- X karohrok yiman Y = "X is similar to Y"
- yuwn yi-X wardi yarrke yi-Y = "don't X else Y might happen", e.g. yuwn yibidbun wardi yarrke yimankayinj "don't climb it else you might fall down"