Wapparr: Language (page 5)
Avoidance
In Warumungu society certain relations show respect to each other by not talking directly to each other. So women and their daughter's husbands may act politely by not talking to each other, not looking directly at each other, not passing things to each other, and not saying each other's names. People who have been together in certain ceremonies can't say each others' names too. You might hear a woman say 'I can't call her name. She's my "somebody."' That means those two women have been in an important ceremony with each other. So they have to respect each other, and cannont say each other's names.
Gestures and sign language
Like all peoples Warumungu people gesture when talking. Some gestures are different from English gestures; for example, using lips to point to people rather than index fingers. Warumungu people, especially older women, have a secondary language of hand signs. There are some situations when a Warumungu person does not speak for reasons of respect. For example, after the death of certain relatives women may use handsigns as their main way of talking. Sometimes this is also useful for talking to people who are too far away to hear. People call this sign language murnarri-murnarri, ot takka-takka finger talk. Both takka and murnarri mean hand or finger.
Spelling and Pronunciaton
Warumungu people have been speaking the language for a long time, but they only started writing systematically in 1983. The spelling system is modelled on other Central Australian spelling systems. Most letters are sounded as they are in English, but there are some special sounds, and special uses of letters.
- a - ah or cut
- u - pu
- jj - church
- pp - happy
- p - cap
- kk - kiss
- k - sky
- tt - take
- t - stake
- ny - onion
- ly - million
To make the sounds written "rt", "rl" and "rn" curl your tongue back while making the 't', 'n' or 'l' sound. To make the sound written n "rr", trill the 'r' like a Scottish speaker.