Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/329

 words which we call interrogatives liave also assertive meanings. For example, the expression gen ku ggallen, taken as an assertive, means ' somebody calling,' but, as an interrogation, ' who is call- ing "? thus, gen represents 'who'? or 'somebody'; it is used like the life-nouns and personal pronouns. In the same way, minya, minyug, minyugbo, mean 'what'? or 'something.' There is also inji, winjif, which means 'where'? or 'somewhere.' Another word of the same kind is yiHy, 'in what place'? and 'in some place.' Such words are the connecting links between the nouns and the verbs.

4 (a). Suffixes to Kouxs. The suffixes used w4th nouns are the following : —

1. -0.

This is usually said to be the sign of the agent-nominative case, but it also denotes an instrumental case; e.ff., buman gaio wanyo murrunduggo, ' I will beat you vnth-a-clab.' Here the words for /and for the c^h^ both have this suffix. Yogum gai yuggan bumbumbo, 'I cannot go ivitli-swollen-fect.' Here the word, '■swollen feet^ has this form.

2. -nye, -ne, -e, -ge.

This may be called the accusative suffix. It usually follows the use of such transitive verbs as bu ma, 'beat'; n a, 'see'; igga, 'bite'; wia, 'give to'; bur a, 'take out.' As a genei'al rule, only life- nouns and personal pronouns take this suffix. Non-life nouns retain their plain nominative form. Since adjectives and adjective pronouns agree in form with the nouns they qualify, it follows that they have a twofold declension. The accusative form of 'that man' is mullanye paigannye; of ' that tomahawk,' the accusative is mully bundan.

Examples of its use are: — Mullaio gunye yilyulman, 'he will make me sick.' Wanye yilyulman mullaio, 'he will make thee sick.' Graio mullanye yilyulman, ' I will make him sick.'

Sometimes either the form in -o or in -nye is omitted.

��This is used to denote the genitives; as, paiganna koggara, 'a man's head'; taicumma jennug, 'a boy'sfoot.' This form in -na belongs only to life-nouns and words connected with them. It is the same that is used with adjectives qualifying things ; so that unduruna cuan may mean either 'some spear' or 'somebody's spear,' There are also other forms to denote possession. When followed by this case, the interrogative minyug takes the sense of 'how many'? as, minyugbo kittomma nogum ? 'how many dogs has the old man '?

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