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Phrase Detail
Nyanyararr pirnin?
How did you get here?
Pronunciation:
Say
:
Ny
ar
ny
-ar-arr
piurn
-in
Notes:
Vowels
:
Standard
- '
a
' as in ‘path’, ‘
i
’ as in ‘hit’.
Variation
- when ‘
i
’ follows a ‘
p
’ and is followed by a ‘r’, ‘rn’ or ‘rt’ but not ‘rr’, the ‘i’ is rounded off like ‘tu’ in French. (top of the tongue touches the back of the palate).
Consonant
combination - '
ny
' (palato-nasal) combine 'n' and 'y' while top of tongue touches hard palate plus nasal vibration. (Avoid the English 'nee' as in 'many')
-
'
rr
' roll or trill tongue.
Literal Meaning:
lit. nyanyar (how) + arr (you sing.) pirna (to arrive, to come) + in (past tense)
Shows:
Adverb - transferring, Verb ending - you ( one person) do - arr, Verb ending - has already happened (past) - in
Explanation:
Simple question with adverb followed by verb
. The person ending 'arr' (you, singular) has been tranferred from the verb 'pirnin' (arrived, or get here) to the tranferring adverb 'nyanar' (how) to make 'how-you arrived'.
Learning Focus:
Communication, Interacting, Language Building, Spoken
Learning Exercise:
Build
- look up, write down and practice saying - 'How did you sleep?', 'How did you find it?', 'How did we get here?', 'When will you leave? ' When I saw you I loved you.' - Think up some more questions beginning with an adverb.
Phrase Sentence:
Sentence
Words Associated:
nyanya - what? how?
pirna - appear, come, arrive, to rise (of sun etc.)
Topics:
Communication - Question
Age Guides:
Yr 4-6, Yr 7-9, Yr 10-12
Reference:
Victorian Languages: A Late Survey: L.A. Hercus; p. 32, (e) Locative