This book explores an Aboriginal lifestyle through its words.<br/>For many thousands of years the Yidiny language was spoken by the Aborigines of the Cairns-Atherton Tablelands region. Today the people and the words are all but extinct. Here, in tracking this sophisticated language, linguist R.M.W. (Bob) Dixon records its last speakers.<br/>The language and way of life are illustrated by twenty - four stories in both Yidiny and English translation. Aboriginal place names are listed along with their origins, and the book includes a clearly organised vocabulary of words, and Yidiny and English indexes.<br/>The vocabulary is ordered into fields of meaning (such as parts of the body, kin terms, animals, and verbs of motion) and is cross - referenced to specific words in the story section.<br/>The book provides vital information on the history of the region, dialect differences and the extraordinary ''mother - in - law'' language which distinguished this ancient and rich culture.<br/>