Emotion metaphors in an awakening language

Kaurna, the language of the Adelaide Plains, is an awakening language undergoing revival since 1989 (Amery 2016Amery, Rob. 2016. Warraparna Kaurna! Reclaiming an Australian language. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. ). Though little knowledge of Kaurna remains in the oral tradition and no sound recordings of the language as it was spoken in the nineteenth century exist, a surprising number and range of emotion terms were documented. A great many of these involve the tangka ‘liver’ followed by kuntu ‘chest’, wingku ‘lungs’, yurni ‘throat’ and yurlu ‘forehead’, whilst mukamuka ‘brain’ and yuri ‘ear’ are involved in cognition. The role of pultha ‘heart’ is minimal. But these are not the only means to talk about emotions. Muiyu ‘pit of the stomach’, a more elusive term, which may or may not be located in a body part and yitpi ‘seed’ are also central to emotions. These three terms tangka ‘liver’, muiyu ‘pit of the stomach’ and yitpi ‘seed’, appear to be viewed by Teichelmann & Schürmann (1840)Teichelmann, C. G. & C. W. Schürmann. 1840. Outlines of a grammar, vocabulary, and phraseology, of the Aboriginal language of South Australia, spoken by the natives in and for some distance around Adelaide. Adelaide: Published by the authors at the native location. and especially Teichelmann (1857)Teichelmann, C. G. 1857. Dictionary of the Adelaide dialect. MS 4vo. pp. 99 (with double columns). No. 59, Bleek’s Catalogue of Sir George Grey’s Library dealing with Australian languages. Cape Town: South African Public Library. as seats of emotion. In addition, there are a range of other means to express emotion, simple verbs and interjections.

This paper will discuss in detail the historical documentation, its interpretation and the ways in which this documentation is used today. In the context of re-introducing a reclaimed language, such as Kaurna, how to talk about emotions can become the topic of serious and sometimes unresolved debate. The title of a book of poetry (Proctor & Gale 1997Proctor, Jo & Mary-Anne Gale (collators). 1997. Tauondi speaks from the heart: Aboriginal poems from Tauondi College. Port Adelaide: Tauondi College.) ended up having two translations, one involving tangka ‘liver’ and the other pultha ‘heart’. Historical phrases expressing emotions are often co-opted in names, speeches, poetry and written texts.