Macquarie Aboriginal Words

Book excerpt: Macquarie Aboriginal Words is a dictionary of words from a selection of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. This ebook covers the languages of Bundjalung, The Sydney Language and Wiradjuri from New South Wales. For each language, the following information is provided: · a brief history of the language · points on the grammar, spelling and pronunciation · an extensive wordlist organised by categories, such as animals, body parts, kin relationships, placenames, etc. · a dual index, i.e. English to Language and Language to English This ebook series is based on Macquarie Aboriginal Words originally published in print in 1994. The sheer diversity of indigenous languages in Australia must be close to the greatest and richest component of this country's national cultural heritage ... This book is much needed, as it gives a sense of the richness of a heritage which is disappearing in many areas of the country. NOEL PEARSON