Yolngu Grammar

 

Yolngu verbs involve 4 aspects (I to IV below), and come in 9 groups

 
I
II
III
IV
ga
gi
gana
ganha
Group 1
Vtr
do, work
djäma
djäma
djäma
djäma
Group 2
Vint
go, come
marrtji
marrtji
marrtjina
marrtjina
Group 3
Vtr
talk
waŋa
waŋi
waŋana
waŋanha
Group 4
Vint
dance
giritjirri
giritji
giritjina
giritjinya
Group 5
Vint
laugh
gitkitthun
gitkitthurru
gitkitthurruna
gitkitthuna
Group 6
Vtr
give
gurrupan
gurrupulu
gurrupara
gurrupana
Group 7
Vtr
forget
moma
moŋu
moŋala
monha
Group 8
Vtr
wear, carry
gurrukama
gurrukuŋu
gurrukaŋala
gurrukanha
Group 9
Vtr
hit, kill
buma
buŋu
bumara
bunha
"
Vtr
hear
ŋäma
ŋäku
ŋäkula
ŋänha
"
Vtr
hold, keep
ŋayathama
ŋayathulu
ŋayathaŋala
ŋayathanha
"
like this
bitjan
biyaku
bitjarra
bitjana
"
how
nhaltjan
nhalayaku
nhaltjarra
nhaltjana

Any given verb will belong to one of the groups 1 to 9. usually they can be recognised by their ending, e.g. galkurruna can be seen to end with -urruna, meaning it is a group 5 verb in the III tense.

Groups 1, 2, 6 and 8, are relatively uncommon. The only cross over between groups and conjugations is highlighted in blue, green and purple.

With group 8, the -kama ending is also spelled -gama when the preceding sound is nasal (m, n, nh or ŋ). This is part of the spelling rules of Yolŋu where k and g are allophones of the same phoneme, as are b and p, dh and th, and dj and tj. The voiced consonants g, b, dh and dj come at the start of the words and after nasals, wereas k, p, th and tj occur in the middle and end of words (unless preceded by a nasal).

i.e. bäpa, päpa, bäba and päba would all be different ways of spelling the same word, but only bäpa is correct.

e.g. if kangaroo were a Yolngu word, it would be spelled gangarru, as k and g represent the same phoneme, but occur in different places. You could compare this to the -ng sound of the words rowing, running, or even think, which English speakers find difficult to say at the start of words, or after consonants, usually replacing it with 'n', as this occurs in English at these places. For example, English speakers tend to say Yolnu and narra, when they see 'Yolŋu' and 'ŋarra' written.

verb 
endings
 
continuous 
tense 
modal verb
 
English example
 
Yolŋu example
 
I
 
ga
 

present tense
+ dhu = future today / unspecified
+ yesterday past
+ definite time before today





I laugh
I will laugh (today)

I laughed yesterday
I laughed (going to Darwin)





Ŋarra gitkitthun
Ŋarra dhu gitkitthun
Ŋarra gitkitthun
Ŋarra gitkitthun (Darwin-lili
 marrtji-na)


II
 
gi
 

tomorrow future

+ negative present

+ negative yesterday past 
+ unspecified time after today

+ commands (past and present)



I will laugh (tomorrow)

I don't laugh

I didn't laugh (yesterday)

I won't laugh

Laugh!



Ŋarra gitkitthurru
Yaka ŋarra gitkitthurru
Yaka ŋarra gitkitthurru
Yaka ŋarra dhu gitkitthurru
Gitkitthurru!


III
 
gana
 

past (today or unspecified)



I laughed



Ŋarra gitkitthurruna


IV
 
ganha
 

negative 'today past'

infinitive

habitual long ago past tense

+ guli = always



I didn't laugh (today)

to laugh

I used to laugh  (long ago)

I always laugh



Yaka ŋarra gitkitthuna
gitkitthuna
Ŋarra gitkitthuna
Ŋarra guli gitkitthuna



note that the 'continuous'

modal verbs are like the -ing

suffix in English, e.g. compare

the examples



I laugh

I am laughing


I don't laugh

I'm not laughing



Ŋarra gitkitthun

Ŋarra ga gitkitthun



Yaka ŋarra gitkitthurru

Yaka ŋarra gi gitkitthurru