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Rh Further evidence of the unity of the languages is afforded by the sameness of the personal pronouns, and the constant recurrence of one, at least, of the numerals—the word for "two." It is only necessary to give a few examples:—

It would appear, from the scanty vocabularies that have been printed, that the native words for "two," "twice," "both," and "four"—common in nearly all the dialects of the eastern and a great portion of the southern parts of Australia—are different or greatly modified in the language of the districts west and north-west of the Great Bight. But they are used in the central parts of the continent. The Dieyerie tribe say for "those two," Boolyia.

A comparison of all the words in the tables for Victoria with words in vocabularies for other parts of the continent seems to show that the language spoken by the tribes of the River Murray and the Western districts of Victoria have closer affinities with the languages of the other parts of the continent than the dialects of the Yarra Yarra, Western Port, and Gippsland tribes have. Indeed the dialects of the Gippsland tribes appear to have been originally either greatly different, or they have been modified since the tribes settled in these parts. From their geographical position, these tribes are in a measure isolated, and any influences that might have affected the dialects of the Murray and the Western districts would not necessarily have extended to them; nor would changes in the language of the people thus situated have spread westward or north-westward.

There are many causes in operation which, in course of time, lead to alterations in the dialects; tending, however, rather to the introduction of new words and the disuse of old words than to any change in the structure of the language. From the information supplied by those best acquainted with the habits of this people, it appears it is a custom—common, if not universal—that when a person dies whose name is the same, or has the same sound, as any word of the