The Noongar language is the official
Name. The endonym of the Noongar comes from a word originally meaning "man" or "person".
Boodja means land/country in Noongar language and the care for Boodja is central to Noongar culture, with the natural environment and culture intrinsically linked. It also relates to a sense of belonging and custodianship, as opposed to ownership.
Noongar means 'a person of the south-west of Western Australia,' or the name for the 'original inhabitants of the south-west of Western Australia' and we are one of the largest Aboriginal cultural blocks in Australia.
Gubbah, also spelt gubba, is a term used by some Aboriginal people to refer to white people or non-Aboriginal people. The Macquarie Dictionary has it as "n. Colloq. (derog.) an Aboriginal term for a white man".
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aborigines • native/native Australians • lost (e.g. Lost language, cultures).
Aboriginal people refer to an Elder as 'Aunty' or 'Uncle'. However, it is recommended that non-Aboriginal people check the appropriateness of their use of these terms as referring to an Elder or leader as Aunty or Uncle may not be appropriate for an outsider unless a strong relationship has been established.
Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), Boorloo (Perth), 'Kaarta Gar-up' or 'Mooro Kaarta' (Kings Park) are all Noongar names.
Overall there are many common words in Noongar, for example: kaya = hello, moort = family, boodja = country and yongka = kangaroo. These words are used everyday but they sound slightly different from region to region.
Here in the metropolitan area, around the city of Perth, and of course, even down as far as Fremantle, this area was known as Whadjuk country, and the Whadjuk people spoke a language that was basically one language right through the Southwest.
kesalul - I love you.
Noongar word for mum is Ngangk. Its also the word for the sun.
Overall there are many common words in Noongar, for example: kaya= hello, moort = family, boodja = country and yongka = kangaroo. These words are used every day but they sound slightly different from region to region.
"Bindi Bindi means Butterfly in the local Noongar language."
The area where Perth now stands was called Boorloo by the Aboriginals living there at the time of their first contact with Europeans in 1827. Boorloo formed part of Mooro, the tribal lands of the Yellagonga, one of several groups based around the Swan River and known collectively as the Whadjuk.
There is no one Aboriginal word that all Aborigines use for Australia; however, today they call Australia, ""Australia"" because that is what it is called today. There are more than 250 aboriginal tribes in Australia. Most of them didn't have a word for ""Australia""; they just named places around them.
Learn some Noongar words and phrases
Kia / Hello. Boorda / Goodbye.
They include bunji, "a mate, a close friend a kinsman" (from Warlpiri and other languages of the Northern Territory and northern Queensland), boorie, "a boy, a child" (from Wiradjuri), jarjum, "a child" (from Bundjalung), kumanjayi, "a substitute name for a dead person" (from Western Desert language), pukamani "a ...
Kaka or Kaa-kaa is the Noongar name for a Laughing Kookaburra.
The name Joondalup is a Whadjuk Noongar word, possibly meaning either “place of whiteness or glistening”, or “place of a creature that can only move backwards”. There is also a reference to the name of an important Whadjuk Noongar elder named Joondalup.
yaankga (thank you) to Brenda and George who have graciously recorded the following Noongar terms and phrases used throughout this course.
Noongar yorga were the primary caregivers for the koolangka (children) until they were old enough to join the Noongar men and learn men's business.
The term 'Aborigine' was commonly used up until about the 1960s but is now generally regarded as outdated and inappropriate. This is in part because 'Aborigine' is a noun, while 'Aboriginal' is an adjective sometimes employed as a noun.
It may not be appropriate for non-Aboriginal people to use these terms. 'Walkabout' and 'Koori time' are other terms based on cultural practices that are often trivialised or used to mock people. Non-Aboriginal Australia has made a habit of misappropriating and trivialising culturally significant practices.
Koori (or Koorie)
Koori is a term denoting an Aboriginal person of southern New South Wales or Victoria. 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal'. There are many other Aboriginal groups across Australia (such as Murri, Noongar, Yolngu) with which Indigenous Australians may identify themselves.