Arrernte people have always had names for places, hills, rivers and other features of the landscape within Arrernte Country. The names tell the ayeye altyerre (creation stories) and link apmere (country) to Arrernte language, people, and culture.
Some Mparntwe (Alice Springs) streets were named after Arrernte plants and
animals, however at the time they street signs were created the Arrernte language written system was not agreed by Arrernte people, so street names were written in a way that didn’t fully capture the language sounds. Since that time, the Central and Eastern Arrernte to English Dictionary has been compiled using the agreed standardised Arrernte spelling system, and this is the system we are using for this project.This project Angkentye-yerrtye ileme mpwarele loosely translates to ‘Bringing back the right names’. It offers the correct pronunciations and spellings of our street signs using the Central and Eastern Arrernte agreed standard spelling. It is important to the future of the Arrernte language that we use consistent spelling. The QR Codes on the signs link to more information about the meaning of the Arrernte names and how to say them properly.
We have discussed this street sign project with different stakeholders, and everyone has expressed support. Stakeholders can see the opportunity created for local residence and visitors to learn about the local Aboriginal language. The street signs are visually different and are not intended to replace existing street signs, they offer an opportunity for people to engage with Arrernte culture in a respectful way.
If you scroll down, you see a list of place names with pronunciations, maps, and explanations in both Arrernte and English; e.g., Ankerre Park:
Ankerre Arrernte-le akeme, itne artnwepe-le lyapeme ahelhe ante-ke nhenhe-le. Artnwepe ahelhe impene anthurre tyerrtye Arrernte-le. ankerre irrkenhe, iteme alpmenye ingkwelpe-ke.
Ankerre is Arrernte name for the coolibah tree. They grow in swamp areas across Central Australia. The Ankerre bark is burned to make ash for pitjuri.
And there’s an excellent page by linguist Myfany Turpin called Have you ever wondered why Arrernte is spelt the way it is? that starts:
Many literate English speakers have lots of questions when they first see a word written in Arrernte. Even the name of the language is confusing: sometimes it is written ‘Arrernte’ (the modern spelling) and sometimes ‘Aranda’ (a left-over spelling from the old days).
This article answers some of the frequently asked questions about why Arrernte words are spelt the waythey are.
It gives clear and easily understandable answers to questions like “Why don’t the Arrernte use the English spelling system to write Arrernte?” and “Why are the same words spelt differently in different Aboriginal languages, such as ‘Kwementyaye’ in Arrernte and ‘Kumanjayi’ in Warlpiri?”; I wish more specialists could write so well for the general public.
Via zompist’s comment on this MetaFilter post by chariot pulled by cassowaries, which links to a news story, “Arrernte street signs keeping language strong for traditional owners of Alice Springs,” where you can see pictures of the signs (with QR codes linking to audio of the correct pronunciation and background on the name’s meaning). It all gets the Languagehat Seal of Approval.
Myfany Turpin’s article really is a paragon of writing on linguistics for non-experts.
I looked up Turpin and found that hers is the 44th interview in Field Notes, a recently retired podcast dedicated to linguistic fieldwork, featuring many interesting people that I have heard about, with transcripts. Oh, Internet, what am I going to do with you?
A great find (and an inescapable question)! And I was inspired to look up the name Myfany, which turns out to be a variant of Myfanwy (Welsh: [məˈvanʊɨ̯, məˈvanʊi̯], from Welsh annwyl ‘beloved’), “a feminine given name popularised by the Welsh song, Myfanwy composed by Joseph Parry and first published in 1875.”
And annwyl is “From an- (intensive prefix) + gŵyl (‘mild, gentle, graceful; bashful, modest’),” with gŵyl apparently being from Proto-Celtic *weilos.
A slightly different (perhaps more believable) etymology from behindthename.com:
From the Welsh prefix my- meaning “my, belonging to me” (an older form of fy) combined with either manwy meaning “fine, delicate” or banwy meaning “woman” (a variant of banw). This was the name of an 1875 Welsh song composed by Joseph Parry.
Huh. Well, DE will know…
And the simplification from *gwŵyl to gŵyl was effected by the undying boukólos rule?