1Contents. Nominal suffix which indicates the idea of contents being held within a container
of some kind.
-
Kadjalbodelengkurrme kabongerdkendi wanjh.
The water goes in until it is full.
(Nadjamerrek, Lofty Bardayal & Garde, Murray (ed.), ‘A Kundedjnjenghmi Wordlist of
Eco-zone Terminology’, Northern Land Council Caring for Country Unit, 2007)
2Only, just, nominal suffix 'exclusive involved participant'. Only me, just each other, all
by ourselves etc.
-
Dalukdeleng beneburrinj?
Was it only the two women [and not men] who were fighting?
-
Wanjh ngadman deleng bu ngarrinahnarren / Minj nangale ngankongibun bu konda kamre,
ahwurd, ahwurd.
We look after ourselves / No one feels sorry for us, no one is staying here, we are sad,
we are sad.
(Wildflower Band, ’Maburrinj (The lonely place called Maburrinj)’, from the Album
‘Manginburru Bininj’, Skinnyfish Music, 2009)
GrammarFree noun in the form of delengno (with the third person possessor suffix
-no only in Kuninjku, Kune and Kundedjnjenghmi dialects) and has the sense of
'contents (of a container)'. In a second sense the word appears as a suffix on core nominals
with the sense of 'exclusive involved participant' (see Evans 2003:154). Incorporable in
verbs such as delengkan, delengmang, delengkurrme, delengdahkendong
-delengkan
Take contents in a container, vehicle etc.
-delengmang
Get or pick up a container/bag etc. with contents in it.
-delengdahkendong
Put contents in container, put luggage in vehicle etc.
Word audio:
Sentence audio: