Reflecting on the wordlists from the Australian southwest, or no doubt from any area of the country, gives an occasional glimpse of the way the indigenous people perceived the world around them. This is sometimes termed ‘a world view’. For us English speakers. a ‘tooth’ is a ‘tooth’ more or less. We might say ‘toothless’ for someone without teeth; or figuratively for someone who is therefore harmless, because his bite without teeth is unthreatening. Someone might be ‘toothy’—having unusually prominent teeth. While ‘teething troubles’ might be applied to small children growing their teeth, or to new inventions that do not work as well as expected or hoped for in the beginning. There may be more ‘tooth’ associations in English, but they are not like those of the Indigenous Australians, as the following examples reveal. And there are others besides, somewhat more tenuous than those supplied here.

First, a ‘tooth’ pure and simple. This is basically ngalga or ngalag, with the ‘curious inversion’ process or metathesis operating (-lga or -lag).

TOOTH

“nalgo” nalga = “teeth” tooth: [3] Lyon 1833 [:405:40] [NYUNGAR]

“orl-ga” ngurlga = “tooth, a” tooth: [4 (e)] Grey V [: 419:31] [Wardandi]

“nalgo” nalga = “teeth” tooth: [8] Salvado 1851 [:405:46] [NYUNGAR]

“ghnalgo” ngalga = “teeth” tooth: [17] Markey 1942 [:57:31] [NYUNGAR]

“orlock” ngurla[a]g = “teeth” tooth: [1] King 1827 [:406:4] [Minang]

“nor-luk” nurla[a]g = “tooth, a” tooth: [4 (b)] Grey [: 419:33] [Minang]

“quorlock” ngurla[a]g = “teeth” tooth: [11] Hassell AA 1894 [?] [:406:11] [NYUNGAR]

“gnorluck” ngurla[a]g = “teeth” tooth: [22] Gray 1987 [:406:16] [NYUNGAR]

“knollak” ngula[a]g = “teeth” tooth: [10 (l)] Curr [:405:39] [Wardandi]

The first variation is the word for ‘tooth’ being applied to a facial feature near the tooth: the ‘cheek’:

“nga-luk” ngalu[u]g = “cheek, the” cheek: [4 (b)] Grey [:234:24] [Minang]

“Ngaluk” ngalu[u]g = “(K.G.S.) The cheek?” cheek: Moore 1842 [:89:11] [Minang]

In the evolution of animals surprising changes have occurred to the basic bodily components of head, torso, arms/legs, feet and so on. The backbone can have more or fewer components, and likewise the neck, as in a giraffe. Elephants have a long nose. A horse’s hoof is basically the nail on a single residual finger or toe, the other digits almost disappearing. We know where a nostril is supposed to be: except that on a whale it has become the blowhole on the top of its head. And for birds, the beak is a single remaining tooth of the upper and lower jaw.

While there are no examples showing that the Nyungar called a bird’s beak a ‘tooth’, there are many examples of birds as a hole being perceived by one of their predominant characteristics, their beak (or ‘tooth’).

BIRD

“ngala” ngala = “sea gull, large” gull: [3] Lyon 1833 [:369:6] [NYUNGAR]

“Ngulor” ngulur = “Eagle, sea; Haliaeëtus leucogaster” sea-eagle: Moore 1842 [:130:34] [NYUNGAR]

“Ngalganning” ngalganing = “Ibis; Nycticorax” ibis: Moore 1842 [:140:24] [NYUNGAR]

“gnular” ngula = “cockatoo, white-tailed black” cockatoo: [18 (v)] Serventy [:239:52] [Goreng]

“gnoolah” ngula = “cockatoo, black” cockatoo: [22] Gray 1987 [:238:41] [NYUNGAR]

“Nulargo” nulaga = “Graucalus; blue pigeon.” pigeon: Moore 1842 [:86:9] [NYUNGAR]

“nu-lar-go” nulaga = “cuckoo-shrike, black-faced” cuckoo-shrike: [18 (w)] Serventy [:248:19] [Wajuk]

“ngo-lak” ngala[a]g = “cockatoo, white tailed sp. of” cockatoo: [4] Grey 1840 [:239:46] [NYUNGAR]

“gnawlak” ngalag = “cockatoo, white-tailed” cockatoo: [13] Rae [:239:48] [NYUNGAR]

“ngoolark” ngula[a]g = “cockatoo, white-tailed black” cockatoo: [24] Hassell, Edney [:239:49] [NYUNGAR]

“Nolyang” nalya[a]ng = “Nol-yang; Gallinula” moorhen: Moore 1842 [:148:14] [NYUNGAR]

“ngalganning” ngalganing = “ibis, Nycticorax caledonicus (night heron)” night-heron: [9] Moore 1884 [:296:22] [NYUNGAR]

“knulumberry” ngalambiri = “pelican” pelican: [10 (b)] Curr [:347:34] [Amangu]

Other ‘toothy’ animals appear to have been so viewed also—at least native cats, and the ‘flathead’ fish.

ANIMAL

“ngoolarngeat” ngula[a]ngid = “cat, spotted marsupial” cat: [24] Hassell, Edney [:233:16] [NYUNGAR]

“ngoolgarngeat” ngulga[a]ngid = “wild cat (native, marsupial spotted)” cat: [23] Buller-Murphy [: 442:13] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

“no’lkah” nalga = “flathead” flathead: [15] Hammond [:268:6] [NYUNGAR]

“nol-ah” nala = “flathead” flathead: [16] Hammond [:268:5] [NYUNGAR]

What are ‘teeth’ primarily used for? Biting, chewing, eating. Perhaps not surprisingly, there are examples for words related to these functions, although Grey in the first example below took moral exception to this phenomenon.

EAT/DRINK

“nal-go” nalga = “teeth, the; improperly used for ‘to eat'” tooth: [4] Grey 1840 [:406:18] [NYUNGAR]

“nal-goo” nalgu = “eat, to” eat: [15] Hammond [:263:14] [NYUNGAR]

“Nalgo” nalga = “drink” drink: Symmons, Charles [:16:16] [NYUNGAR]

“{yowerinyy, narlong}” nala[a]ng = “{alcohol}” grog: [22] Gray 1987 [:200:15.2] [NYUNGAR]

“nalung” nala[a]ng = “grog” grog: [13] Rae 1913 [::] [NYUNGAR]

Finally, the ‘tooth’ concept led onto ‘belch’ (a result of work done by teeth perhaps), ‘sharp’ (as a knife, or, in the absence of knives, a ‘tooth’), and piercing, done by something ‘sharp’ such as a . . . ‘tooth’.

OTHER

“nor-luk-kool” nurlu[a]gul = “belch, to; to come through the teeth” tooth: [4 (b)] Grey [:214:1] [Minang]

“Nalgo” nalga = “Edge, sharp, as of a knife” sharp: Moore 1842 [:131:7] [NYUNGAR]

“Ngalladara” ngaladara = “A hole pierced completely through.” perforation: Moore 1842 [:89:6] [NYUNGAR]

There are some transcontinental words, and bila is one of them. It means ‘stream’.

Daisy Bates provided the following sentence, with general and literal translations:

dajä wâ gäbälä?

Any fish in the river (or water)?

(fish where water?)

The sentence was the starting point in an investigative trail.

1. daja

This is respelt as dadya, and from a search of the NYUNGAR database its meaning is confirmed:

“dad-ja” dadya = “animal fit to eat, any; the flesh of any animal fit to eat” meat: [4] Grey 1840 [:201:52] [NYUNGAR]

“Dadja” dadya = “Any animal fit to eat; or the flesh of any such animal; animal food, as contradistinguished from Maryn, vegetable food.” meat: Moore 1842 [:24:7] [NYUNGAR]

“dad-ja” dadya = “flesh of all sorts” meat: [5] Symmons 1841 [:268:12] [Wajuk]

Grey in 1840 set out the basic meaning. This was taken up and amplified by Moore. And Symmons confirmed the sense of the word as ‘meat food’. Fish are considered food, and are not vegetables, so dadya can mean ‘fish’.

2. wa

wa is either a word in its own right, or a locative (place) suffix. Bates stated its meaning as ‘where’.

“Yuŋ’ar wâ” yunga wa = “men where” man where: Bates Grammar [:67:31] [Wajuk]

“wânä wa” wana wa = “woman’s stick where” yamstick where: Bates Grammar [:67:33] [Wajuk]

Bates alone of the dozen or so wordlist compilers identified this usage.

3. gabala

Bates stated that the word gabala, in her example, meant ‘river (or water)’. The database supplied words for ‘stream’ beginning with ‘g-’:

“carlock” galag = “creek” stream: [11] Hassell AA 1894 [?] [:246:13] [NYUNGAR]

“gurr-jyte” gurdyad = “stream, a” stream: [4] Grey 1840 [:397:43] [NYUNGAR]

but not really close to gabala.

There are, however, plenty of example of gab, gaba and gabi meaning ‘water’:

“kyp” gab = “water” water: [3 (a)] Lyon [: 431:35] [Minang]

“kype” gab = “water” water: [4] Grey 1840 [: 431:43] [NYUNGAR]

“[gabbie, gabba, gabby]” gaba = “water” water: [24] Hassell, Edney [: 431:23.1] [NYUNGAR]

“gabbi” gabi = “water” water: [9] Moore 1884 [: 431:18] [NYUNGAR]

There was no gabala for water, although Moore provided gabilang:

“Gabbilang” gabilang = “Of or belonging to water. Spoken of fish and amphibious animals. From Gabbi, water; and ang, of, l being interposed for sound’s sake.” water: Moore 1842 [:38:1] [NYUNGAR]

FURTHER THOUGHTS

If gabala should not mean ‘stream’ or ‘water’, what might it mean instead, and expecially in the context of Bates’s sentence? A search for g@b@l* (where ‘@’ means any single letter, and ‘*’ any group or letters) resulted in two main lines of thought, ‘belly’ and ‘sleep’:

BELLY

“Cob-bull” gabul = “Belly” belly: King, P.P. (Nyungar) [:2:10.1] [Minang]

“corpul” gurbul = “belly” belly: [2] Nind 1831 [:214:11] [NYUNGAR]

“kabarla” gabala = “belly” belly: [3] Lyon 1833 [:214:20] [NYUNGAR]

“kob-ba-lo” gabala = “stomach” belly: [5] Symmons 1841 [:395:41] [Wajuk]

“kobbel” gabil = “belly” belly: [16] Hammond [:214:14] [NYUNGAR]

SLEEP

“copil” gabil = “sleep” sleep: [2] Nind 1831 [:381:32] [NYUNGAR]

“ko-bel-ya” gubilya = “sleep” sleep: [4 (e)] Grey V [:381:45] [Wardandi]

“ko-pil” gabil = “sleep” sleep: [4] Grey 1840 [:381:46] [NYUNGAR]

“kopil” gabil = “sleep, to” sleep: [9] Moore 1884 [:382:11] [NYUNGAR]

Could either ‘belly’ or ‘sleep’ be candidates for Bates’s sentence?

fish where belly

fish where sleep

If the sentence were read as: ‘Fish where? Belly’, then perhaps the Nyungar person was enquiring about ‘fish’ as a possibility in relation to his ‘belly’. No comparable plausible link comes to mind for ‘fish where’ and ‘sleep’. So perhaps the words for ‘belly’ and ‘sleep’ are somewhat alike by chance, although the second group of examples above does indicate a contrast in the second syllable of the Nyungar word, featuring ‘-il’ as opposed to predominantly ‘-al’ and ‘-ul’ in the first group.

If the ‘belly’ line of thought is pursued, this leads to the idea of ‘hunger’, or ‘hungry’—but first consider any other possibilities.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

The database search also yielded another g@b@l possibility—‘afternoon’:

“gar-ba-la” gabala = “between 3 & 4 pm” afternoon: [4] Grey 1840 [:215:14] [NYUNGAR]

“Garbala” gabala = “The afternoon; the evening; towards sunset.” afternoon: Moore 1842 [:39:5] [NYUNGAR]

Maybe people got ‘hungry’ in the ‘afternoon’; maybe the morphologically similar (alike in ‘shape) word is just another coincidence.

So what about ‘hungry’? Should there be a similarity, it would suggest Bates’s sentence was about hunger (fill the ‘belly’) rather than about sleep.

HUNGRY

“cobolbut” gabal bad = “hunger; to be hungry” hunger (belly lacking): [8 (E)] Salvado [:292:37] [Balardung]

“koobar” guba = “hungry” hungry: [10 (j)] Curr [:292:51] [Pinjarup]

“goober” gubir = “hungry” hungry: [10 (n)] Curr [:292:49] [Kaniyang]

There is not much support, although there is some. And not through the more reliable worldlist compilers. Recourse has been necessary to Salvado, and to Curr. Even so, the above specimens tend to confirm a link between ‘belly’ and ‘hungry’, such that guba might be a root meaning ‘hunger’, and that with the suffix ‘-[a]l’ added it changed its significance to ‘belly’.

CONCLUSION

The above reasoning is speculation. Nevertheless it leads to a possible more realistic translation of the initial sentence than the interpretation Bates provided:

dadya wa gabala

fish where — hungry

Where (are the) fish? (I am) hungry

The word for ‘heart’ is ‘gurd’.

“gurt” gurd = “heart” heart: [9] Moore 1884 [:285:52] [NYUNGAR]

“koort” gurd = “heart, the” heart: [4 (b)] Grey [:286:7] [Minang]

“Gurdu” gurdu = “The heart” heart: Moore 1842 [:45:12] []

“goor-doo” gurdu = “heart, the; desire” heart: [4] Grey 1840 [:286:9] [NYUNGAR]

By extension, ‘gurd’ is also used for someone loved:

“kord” gurd = “wife or husband” spouse: [14 (b) (cc)] Bates [: 442:2] [Barlardung]

“körd” gurd = “wife or husband” spouse: Bates Grammar [:77:72] [Balardung]

“Gurdar” gurda = “A pair; a couple.” pair: Moore 1842 [:45:10] [NYUNGAR]

“korda” gurda = “wife or husband” spouse: Bates Grammar [:77:45] [Wajuk]

“koor-da” gurda = “married person” spouse: [19] Isaacs 1949 [:320:48] [NYUNGAR]

“cordung” gurdang = “husband” husband: [24] Hassell, Edney [:293:44] [NYUNGAR]

“koordunger” gurdangir = “husband; lover” husband: [23] Buller-Murphy [:293:49] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

With the possessive suffix ‘-ag’ to yield ‘heart-of’, the meaning is ‘anxious for’, desirous of’, ‘wanting’:

“Gurdak” gurdag = “Anxious, for any thing” want: Moore 1842 [:121:2] [NYUNGAR]

The words for ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘having’ and ‘lacking’ are often combined with ‘gurd’. These words are:

GOOD

“quaup” gwab = “good” good: [2] Nind 1831 [:274:10] [NYUNGAR]

“guaba” gwaba = “good thing” good: [8 (E)] Salvado [:274:32] [Balardung]

“Gwab-ba” gwaba = “good” good: Symmons, Charles [:11:17] [NYUNGAR]

“Gwâba” gwaba = “good” good: Bates Grammar [:67:36] [Kaniyang / Wajuk / Wardandi]

Some of the several words for ‘bad’ follow. The subtleties of these have not so far been clarified:

BAD:

“wau-kyn” wagan = “bad; useless; no good” bad: [4 (b)] Grey [:208:32] [Minang]

“wockun” wagan = “bad, (unfit to eat)” bad: [2] Nind 1831 [:208:34] [NYUNGAR]

“war-ra” wara = “horrible (?)” bad: [24] Hassell, Edney [:173:40] [NYUNGAR]

“worra” wara = “bad” bad: [13] Rae [:208:2] [NYUNGAR]

“war-ra” wara = “bad” bad: [4] Grey 1840 [:208:26] [NYUNGAR]

“Djul” dyul = “Bad” bad: Symmons, Charles [:10:7] [NYUNGAR]

“Djul” dyul = “Bad.” bad: Moore 1842 [:31:15] [NYUNGAR]

HAVING

“cuttuck” gadag = “have” having: [24] Hassell, Edney [:283:11] [NYUNGAR]

“Ga-dak” gadag = “Having (possessing)” having: Moore 1842 [:138:27] [NYUNGAR]

LACKING

“bart” bad = “nothing, no” lacking: Bates Grammar [:79:27] [NYUNGAR]

“Bârt” bad = “Not” lacking: Symmons, Charles [:23:30] [NYUNGAR]

“but” bad = “no; none” lacking: [8 (E)] Salvado [:335:41] [Balardung]

EXPRESSIONS

Combining these words with ‘gurd’ yields a variety of often abstract concepts:

“cood cuttuck quab” gud gadag gwab = “fond” heart-having good: [24] Hassell, Edney [:35:1] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart good’

“Gurdugwabba” gurdu gwaba = “Compound of Gurdu, the heart, and Gwabba, good; pleased.” pleased: Moore 1842 [:46:1] [NYUNGAR]

“gürt gwâb öbin” gurd gwababin = “merry, heart “having good”” heart good becoming: Bates Grammar [:67:26] [Pinjarup]

‘heart bad’:

“koord wackine” gurd wagan = “sad …” sad: [23] Buller-Murphy [:366:1] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

“coord wackign” gurd wagan = “sad” sad: [24] Hassell, Edney [:365:47] [NYUNGAR]

“koord-warra” gurd wara = “sorrow; sorry …” sorry: [23] Buller-Murphy [:387:4] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

‘angry’, ‘disappointed’

“Gurdu djul” gurdu dyul = “Disappointed” heart bad: Moore 1842 [:129:22] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart-having’: ‘lover’, ‘marriage’:

“gurtgadàk” gurd gadag = “lover” heart-having: [9] Moore 1884 [:316:20] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart-lacking’: distress

“cotoropatpatan” guduru badbadan = “distress, to; to worry; agitate” heart-lacking: [8 (N)] Salvado [:255:23] [Balardung]

Australian indigenous languages are often thought to be deficient in abstract concepts. The rich variety of ideas deriving from ‘gurd’ suggests that perhaps there is no dearth of such abstracts but rather the difficulty in seeking and accurately obtaining them. How much easier it is to use sign language to seek the word for ‘ear’ than for ‘earnest’, for ‘leg’ than for ‘legendary’, for ‘toe’ than for ‘tone’.

Here are some examples:

‘heart one come’

“Gurdugyn-yul” gurdu gan yul = “Compound of Gurdu, the heart; Gyn, one; and Yul, to come; agreeing with; of one heart or mind; unanimous.” agreeing with: Moore 1842 [:46:2] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart liver good’

“kootamiara quab” guda miyara qwab = “health; healthy; well” heart liver good: [23] Buller-Murphy [:285:36] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

“goort-an-gur” gurdanGur = “howl with fear, to” shriek: [4 (b)] Grey [:292:30] [Minang]

‘heart press’ [?]

“goort-boom-gur” gurd bumgur = “embrace, to; to press to the heart” embrace: [4 (b)] Grey [:263:35] [Minang]

‘heart twisted’

“goort-daluk” gurd dalag = “sorry, to be; not to have friendly feeling” heart twisted: [4] Grey 1840 [:387:6] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart one come’

“Gurdo-gyn-yul” gurdu gan yul = “Agreeing with” agreeing with: Moore 1842 [:120:8.1] [NYUNGAR]

“Gurdugyn-yul” gurdu gan yul = “Compound of Gurdu, the heart; Gyn, one; and Yul, to come; agreeing with; of one heart or mind; unanimous.” agreeing with: Moore 1842 [:46:2] [NYUNGAR]

‘heart agent’

“Gurdumit” gurdu mid = “Compound of Gurdu; the heart, and middi, the agent; the soul.” spirit: Moore 1842 [:46:3] [NYUNGAR]

And a complete sentence:

‘I / vegetarian-of / heart hurt stand-ing’

“Ngadjo marynak gurdu bakkanyugowin” ngadyu maranag gurdu bagan yugawuin = “To want … I want flour or food.” I want food: Moore 1842 [:45:13.1] [NYUNGAR]

Finally, to rejoice at this richness in the language:

‘every heart good’

“yennar koota quab” yina guda gwab = “rejoice” rejoice: [23] Buller-Murphy [:360:22] [Dordenup [Wardandi]]

In 2010 a young indigenous AFL footballer from Western Australia began playing for the Sydney Swans. His name is Louis Jetta. Could his uncommon surname be a Nyungar word, and if so, what might it mean? A search of the database, after respelling it as ‘dyida’, revealed that ‘jetta’ is a Nyungar term, with several meanings.

The sky darkens. There is a heaviness in the air. It feels damp. The clouds are massing. Then the rumbling of thunder starts and it begins to rain, and lightning flashes. Then a deafening clash of thunder overhead. It is in the Australian south-west, and the people there had a word for it:

‘barang‘ crops up a lot. It seems to mean ‘carry’, ‘bring’ and the like.

WIALKI

“Latitude 30° 29′ S Longitude 118° 07′ E

The townsite of Wialki is … 341 km north east of Perth and 25 km east of Beacon. … Wialki was gazetted a townsite in 1933. The meaning of the name is not known.”

[http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/History+of+country+town+names]

The above is taken from the ‘Landgate’ website—as is the following:

“Landgate is the Agency responsible for Western Australia’s land and property information. Landgate’s transition from the Department of Land Information came into effect on 1 January 2007. As an Authority Landgate maintains the State’s official register of land ownership and survey information and is responsible for valuing the State’s land and property for government interest.”

The Landgate site includes a large number of WA placenames, of which ‘Wialki’ is one.

Although Landgate states the meaning of ‘Wialki’ is not known, there are some possibilities. An investigation begins with respelling the name, and continues with acceptance that the vowels in a word may be differently interpreted, and with the agreement to treat the suffix separately.

RESPELLING

‘Wialki’ may be respelt wiyal-gi, wayal-gi, wuyal-gi, and any mixture of the vowels ‘a’, ‘u’ and ‘i’ in the word stem.

MATCHES IN THE DATABASE

The following are some of the results when a search is undertaken for ‘w@y@l’, where ‘@’ stands for ‘any vowel’ (in fact for ‘any letter’):

THIN

Grey, and Moore, state ‘wiyul/wayul’ means ‘thin’ or similar.

“we-yool” wiyul = “thin; slight; wasted” thin: [4] Grey 1840 [410:24] [NYUNGAR]

“wy-yul” wayul = “slight” thin: [9] Moore 1884 [382:23] [NYUNGAR]

‘[10 (b)]’ is Curr. This source offered ‘fly’.

“weale” wiyal = “fly” fly: [10 (b)] [176:3] [NYUNGAR]

KANGAROO RAT

Hassell and Rae offer ‘Kangaroo rat’ for ‘wayal’. It is conceivable that such an animal, at the time the word was collected, was being described as ‘slight’ (compared with a full-sized kangaroo’), and the word was mistaken for ‘kangaroo rat’. However, given a considerable range of examples of somewhat similar words for ‘kangaroo rat’ this seems unlikely.

“woyle” wayal = “kangaroo rat” kangaroo rat: [11] Hassell AA 1894 [?] [302:41] [NYUNGAR]

“woil” wayal = “kangaroo, rat” kangaroo rat: [13] Rae 1913 [302:19] [NYUNGAR]

“Woi-le?” wuyil = “(K.G.S.) A small species of kangaroo.” kangaroo: Moore 1842 [107:8] [Minang]

—————————

INVERSION or ‘METATHESIS’

The first three of the following display the inversion phenomenon, or ‘metathesis’, that has been noted in the Nyungar languages or dialects. The first group has ‘–l-y’ and the second ‘–y-l’

“Wal-yo” walyu = “Kangaroo rat” kangaroo rat: Symmons, Charles [6:30] [NYUNGAR]

“Wal-yo” walyu = “Rat, kangaroo rat” kangaroo rat: Moore 1842 [153:13] [NYUNGAR]

“uaglio” walyu = “kangaroo-rat” kangaroo rat: [8 (E)] Salvado [302:40] [Balardung]

“woil” wayal = “kangaroo, rat” kangaroo rat: [13] Rae 1913 [302:19] [NYUNGAR]

“woyle” wayal = “kangaroo rat” kangaroo rat: [11] Hassell AA 1894 [?] [302:41] [NYUNGAR]

“woil” wayal = “kangaroo, rat” kangaroo rat: [13] Rae 1913 [302:19] [NYUNGAR]

————————

THREE

Words for numbers greater than two often give rise to speculation as to whether the concept was correctly interpreted at the time the record was made. There are many examples of words having the format m-d-n for ‘three’ (e.g. ‘madan‘, ‘mirding‘), but no back-up for ‘wayal‘ in the following example:

“wyal” wayal = “three” three: [3] Lyon 1833 [ 412:28] [NYUNGAR]

CONCLUSION

No conclusion can be drawn as to the meaning of ‘wayal‘, but it does seem that it might more probably have signified ‘kangaroo rat’ than ‘thin, slight, wasted’, or ‘fly’ or ‘three’.

SUFFIX -ki

As for the suffix -ki, even less can be proposed at present. A common word incorporated into English in the Australian southwest for a small crayfish today is ‘gilgie’, as indicated by the [www.fish.wa.gov.au] wedsite:

“Gilgies can be commonly found in most streams, rivers and irrigation …”

The same word was noted in 1842 by Moore, featuring the ‘-ki’ suffix:

“Tjil-ki“ dyilgi = “(K.G.S) A species of cray-fish.” crayfish: Moore 1842 [96:16] [NYUNGAR]

Grey, however, recorded the word without the suffix:

“dtjil” dyil = “crayfish, a sp. of” crayfish: [4 (b)] Grey [246:8] [Minang]

Perhaps a clearer picture may emerge when suffixes are looked at more specifically in a later post.

The most common Nyungar word for ‘dog’ is ‘durda’: