Vocabulary
The language has vocabulary from various sources, though the dominant source language is English.
Non-English words:
Kalaw Kawaw Ya: yawo goodbye, matha only/very, mina really/truly, babuk crosslegged, aka granny, puripuri magic action/spells/products/medicines etc. (from the early Kauraraigau Ya word puri, in modern Kala Lagaw Ya the word is puyi).
Meriam Mìr: baker (bakìr] money (beside the more general baks), watai (wathai) bamboo break-wind fence.
Austronesian (Malay, Filipino, Samoan, Rotuman, etc.) : thalinga ear, bala brother, male friend, thuba coconut toddy, makan eat, dudu sit, kaikai eat, nene granny, datho grandfather
Portuguese: pikinini child, sabe know, understand, know how to, can
Read more about this topic: Torres Strait Creole
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
“The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain.”
—Marina Warner (b. 1946)
“Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to the intellectual expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-medical jargon that parodies the concepts of science. The social style conforms to the political expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-liberal social movement that parodies the ideals of freedom and rationality.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)