Wangka Ninti: Pintupi Alphabet

This short musical film is about all the letters in the Pintupi language from the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Enjoy and check out GALCAC's YouTube channel for a new film every two weeks!

For more resources on Pintupi and other Goldfields First Nations languages including alphabet and word posters head to https://wangka.com.au/languages/pintupi/.

LYRICS:

a, a, akutja, mine is made of string
aa, aa, aarrka, i can’t see a thing
i, i, ika, so happy when i sing
this is my Pintupi song

ii, ii, iilyiirlpa, buzzing all around
k, k, kurrumpari, tunnel underground
l, l, lala, makes a sizzling sound
this is my Pintupi song

ly, ly, yilyka, chopping down a tree
m, m, mikurni, as good as it can be
n, n, nama, crawling over me
this is my Pintupi song

ng, ng, ngarlpu, smile from cheek to cheek
ny, ny, nyarlamira, round the rocks they sneak
p, p, Pintupi, the language that we speak
this is my Pintupi song

r, r, rakarra, in the night air
rl, rl, tarlarlpanu, growing everywhere
rn, rn, parnparnparlarla, flying in a pair
this is my Pintupi song

rr, rr, mirra, making quite a din
rt, rt, kartalpa, better not fall in
t, t, tiwirrpa, eat them with a grin
this is my Pintupi song

tj, tj, tjarlirni, isn’t that clever
u, u, urlurru, shelter from the weather
uu, uu, nguurnpa, howl and growl forever
this is my Pintupi song

w, w, warninyi, how far can you throw?
y, y, yangkuru, listen, learn, and know
that was the end of this song so
this was my Pintupi song


VOCABULARY:

akutja - bag
aarrka - fog, mist
ika - smile
iilyiirlpa - wasp
kurrumpari - tunnel
lala - meat
yilyka - axe
mikurni - to mend
nama - ant
ngarlpu - joke
nyarlamira - Blue-tongue lizard
Pintupi - Pintupi
rakarra - moonlight
tarlarlpanu - spinifex
parnparnparlarla - Crested bellbird
mirra - a shout
kartalpa - hole in the ground
tiwirrpa - Honey ant
tjarlirni - to carry on the head
urlurru - windbreak
nguurnpa - howl, growl
warninyi - to throw
yangkuru - ear