Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/379

 The examples given above show that the variations in declension arise from assimilation. Thus, when r or I is the last sound of the word, these letters assimilate the initial consonant of the postfix. If the vowel of the last syllable is i, either ending the word or syllable or followed by n, euphony adds the sound of y to the a of the postfix ; thus, d]/a, cltju, dyi appear instead of da, dii, di. "When i is ejected, this rule does not apply. The ejection of i pre- ceded by a takes place in the Nom. 2 and in the Locative.

If the possessive pronoun is put before its noun, it is declined Avith the same termination as the noun. But the more common practice is to put the pronoun behind it in an abbreviated form as a postfix ; as, buraigundi, 'to my boy'; buraigunu, ' to your boy'; buraigugula, ' to his boy.' ' To my boy,' with the posses- sive pronoun detached, would be gaddiguburaigu.

2. The Comparison of Adjectives.

There is no comparative form of the adjective, nor, properly speaking, a superlative, though certain terminations, such as bag 'very,' bambilag 'exceedingly,' express a superlative or a very high quality of the thing. Hence the comparisons on things are expressed in an indistinct manner. To say, ' this is better than that,' would be ginna marog, wirai gannalla ; lit., 'this is good, not that '; nila garambag, gainguagual, ^if., 'this very good, that also.' But to say, 'this is the be.st of all,' would be nila marogbangan, wirai igianna ginnallal; lit., 'this is good indeed, these are not like it.' Adjectives may be declined like nouns, but in syntax they are not always declined.

3. The Verb.

The study of the verb is attended with some difficulty on ac- count of its many tenses and modifications ; it is, however, con- jugated in a very regular manner, and, excepting the imperative, it is non-inflexional throughout all its tenses, all the persons, both singular and plural, having the same form. The conjugations may be reduced to about five, nor do these vary much, and, so far as they do vary, they follow strict rules according to the ter- mination of the last syllable and the vowel preceding it.

The verbs, then, are arranged in conjugations according to the terminations of the present tense of the indicative ; thus : —

Terminations of Conjugations.

1. -dnna or -ana ; 2. -unna ; 3. -inga ; 4. -arra ; 5. -irra.

The vowel of the penultimate syllable may be said to terminate the radical part of the verb, which is retained in all the tenses and modifications, whilst the remainder is liable to be thrown oflf. Those tenses where a becomes ai are only appai-ent exceptions to the rule.

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