Summary

In the Time of Their Lives: Wangka kutjupa-kutjuparringu: How talk has changed in the Western Desert is a wonderful book that honours the extraordinary heritage and historical trajectory of Western Desert (Ngaanyatjarra) speech, the importance of speech and the management of its varieties with a complexity and insight we have rarely seen in print.

With a blend of interviews in translation, close examples of speech, first person testimony, photographs, film clips and historical material, Kral and Ellis have brought attention to the changing sensory world of Yarnangu, of sight sound and bodily experience as central to Ngaanyatjarra sociality and personhood.

It is rare, indeed, to have such respectful research flow from the intimate and personal perspective of a committed member and active participant in Ngaanyatjarra life.