TEXT 2

Describing aboriginal song

Whether you are a professional musician, a music critic, or “just” a layperson, you will have developed a vocabulary for describing and evaluating songs. Songs can be portrayed in terms of emotions, nostalgia, memories, or quality. (02) But how does one evaluate and describe songs in an Australian Aboriginal language? This question has particular resonance as I have been engaged in a collaborative research project with a team of ______________ (01) for some years now, and it has made me wonder (04) what lexical resources are used in other languages in this arena.

For the Murriny Patha, of north-west Australia, kangunu signals “tune of song” and “aroma”, while lurritj is “loud” (of words and music) but it can also mean “strong, powerful”. Thus (03), there is a strong association between words to describe song and the body.

(Source: Australian Style, Macquarie University, Vol 15, Nr 2, December 2007)

The word “Thus” (03) introduces