Australian Indigenous Sign Languages
The iltyem-iltyem team are currently grappling with some interesting issues related to the meaning of signs and the ways that sign and speech interact within a ‘sign utterance’ to express a composite meaning. One big question is about how to represent sign polysemy – the
Lizzie Ellis provided a number of signs used by her Ngaanyatjarra family in Tjukurla during her recording session with the iltyem-iltyem project on 16 November 2012. These included a number of family signs, some birds and animals and everyday objects. One really interesting feature of
The Ti Tree Baby Board Books were published in 2010 by the NT Territory Library. They were produced in Anmatyerr and Warlpiri versions, to reflect the multilingual nature of the Ti Tree community. The books represent a collaboration between the community language team, Batchelor Institute,
The Ti Tree Baby Board Books were published in 2010 by the NT Territory Library. They were produced in Anmatyerr and Warlpiri versions, to reflect the multilingual nature of the Ti Tree community. The books represent a collaboration between the community language team, Batchelor Institute
Our latest iltyem-iltyem recording workshop was in Yuelamu (May 28 – 1 June 2012). Yuelamu is a community located north east of Alice Springs and is one of the most westwards places where Anmatyerr is spoken (just up the road is the larger settlement of
Here is a short video of Janie Mpetyane, a Kaytetye signer and speaker from Wilora community (250 km north of Alice Springs). The video compiles clips exported from Elan software, which we are using to annotate hand sign recordings. It has been put together in Final
Janie Mpetyane signing and speaking in Kaytetye, at Wilora. She says: Methethe akngwetherre tentele anteyane, meaning ‘Two mad white women are in a tent.’
This little clip shows Molly Napurrurla Presley, signing in front of the blue backdrop (the signadome curtain over the plywood panel). Here we are just starting a session, using video prompts to elicit reciprocal constructions (meaning: ways of saying that people are doing things to
Here’s a short video from Janie Long at Ti Tree, talking about the iltyem-iltyem project.