Those who read my anecdote about the night parrot and
the Aboriginal name ‘mirrlambing’ will know my interest in
Aboriginal bird names and onomatopoeia. Everybody knows,
for example, that the aboriginal representation of the
bird sound is the origin of ‘kookaburra' and some of you
may be interested to know that in nearby Wiradjuri country
and therefore probably around here, the bird was indeed
called 'guuguubarra’.
I am posting this to share with you a very lovely
Aboriginal bird name just given to me from the
Pitjantjatjara language. Before you read on, you may wish
to open the attachment from the Pitjantjatjara reader.
Aralapalpalpa is the sound the wings of the crested
pigeon make when it first lifts off and is the
Pitjantatjara name of the bird itself. You can more or
less get it if you practice the syllables slowly and then
say them very fast (ARA-LA-PAL-PAL-PA ). If you want to be
really precise, the ‘L’ should be written with a mark
below the letter and is an interdental ‘L’ made with the
tongue between the teeth and the flat of the tongue
touching the palate – but it’s pretty good, I think, even
with the English ‘L’.
Listen yourself next time – they are common enough
hereabouts!
John
