Welcome to Gumbaynggirr online!
This pilot project is the first of our online language courses. Muurrbay has run and supported many face-to-face language courses in Gumbaynggirr, as well as in other languages of the mid- to north-coast of NSW. Yet there are many people who cannot attend classes because they are living off-Country, or for other reasons. This course is designed for Gumbaynggirr people but we will consider applications from other people who need to learn the language.
So the first of our online courses, is mainly designed as a short introduction for Gumbaynggirr people who do not otherwise have access to language classes. In time, we plan to extend and add to this, and to provide a similar service for other language groups too.
You will need to enrol to do this course.
In this course, which consists of four units, you will learn to introduce yourself; learn the sounds and writing system so that you can read and write in Gumbaynggirr; learn some more words, and some useful short sentences that you can start to use with your family and friends and, finally, learn to do a Welcome to Country.
Over time we plan to add more units of work but this is a pilot project to find out how much demand there is for Gumbaynggirr Online. So, let us know!
To accompany this course, and as a source for further information, you can use GUMBAYNGGIRR BIJAARR JANDAYGAM, NGAAWA GUGAARRIGAM, the Gumbaynggirr Dictionary and Learner’s Grammar.
This book includes more than 2700 word entries, easy-to-read grammar section, a semantic fields section which groups words such as birds, emotions, insects or artefacts. A new words section lets people use Gumbaynggirr in a modern context, a section on traditional families as well as two new maps depicting the Gumbaynggirr world and several pictures to complement the word entries.
Go to our Publications page to order your own!