How to say “this” and “that” in Diyari

In the Diyari language, there are basically two terms that are used to say “this” and two other terms that are used to say “that”. Diyari makes a fundamental difference between talking about people or animals that are female and those which are not female (that is, they are male, or neutral or unknown, such as worms or ants). We use nhaniya for ‘this one (female)’ and nhawuya for ‘this one (not female)’, as in:

Nhaniya mankarra wapayi nguraya This girl is going to the camp

Nhawuya kanku wapayi nguraya This boy is going to the camp

The same difference applies when talking about things far away (“that”), so we use nhaniwa for ‘that one (female)’ and nhawuwa for ‘that one (not female)’, as in:

Nhaniwa mankarra wapayi nguraya That girl is going to the camp

Nhawuwa kanku wapayi nguraya That boy is going to the camp

It is important to remember this difference when describing or pointing to people, such as in a picture. To say “this is me” there are two different sentences, depending on whether the person speaking is male or female:

Nhaniya nganhi This is me (when a female is speaking)

Nhawuya nganhi This is me (when a male is speaking)

The same is true in the following:

Nhaniwa nganhi That is me (when a female is speaking)

Nhawuwa nganhi That is me (when a male is speaking)

When it comes to speaking to someone, then what we say will depend on whether that person is female or male, as in:

Nhaniya yidni This is you (when talking to a female)

Nhawuya yidni This is you (when talking to a male)

Nhaniwa yidni That is you (when talking to a female)

Nhawuwa yidni That is you (when talking to a male)

There are also different ways to say “this” and “that” if we are talking about or talking to more than one person — we will discuss this in the next blog post.

P.S. My thanks to Aunty Rene Warren for reminding me of the importance of nhaniya versus nhawuya in a Diyari language meeting in Port Augusta this week.