Problem:IOL/2012/i1/en

IOL 2012 Problem #1 Dyirbal
Here are some sentences in the central dialect of Dyirbal as well as their English translations:

(a) A linguist thought there was an error in one of the Dyirbal sentences above. In fact there is no error. The explanation for what seemed strange to him is that one of the animal species is regarded as “old women” in one of the myths of the Dyirbal people. Which animal is it? What did the linguist consider to be an error?

(b) Translate into English:
 * 17. balan ɲalŋga baŋgul ŋumaŋgu guniymuŋagu bambunman.
 * 18. bala diban bilmbalmuŋa baŋgul biɲɟiriɲɟu guniɲu.
 * 19. bayi bargan baŋgul yaɽaŋgu gubimbuluŋunɟanaymuŋagu banɟan.

(c) Here are some more Diyrbal words:


 * bayimbam — grub, caterpillar;
 * mugunanɟa — aunt (mother's elder sister);
 * muŋga — loud noise.

Translate into Dyirbal:
 * 20. The little wallaby is looking at the dragonfly.
 * 21. The aunt that is always being followed is bending the feather.
 * 22. The sleeping possum is ignoring the loud noise.
 * 23. The caterpillar is searching for the man that is always carrying stones.

⚠ The Dyirbal language belongs to the Pama-Nyungan family; it is a dying Australian Aboriginal language spoken in northeast Queensland. ŋ = ng in hang. ɲ ≈ ni in onion; ɟ is a stop (as d) articulated in the same place in the mouth as ɲ. A death adder is an Australian venomous snake. A wallaby is a small animal, related to kangaroo. A possum is an Australian arboreal marsupial. Stinging trees are a genus of shrubs and trees with stinging hairs, some of which are dangerous to humans.

—Artūrs Semeņuks