Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/382

 62 AN AUSTEALIAN LA^'GUAGE.

The conjugations of certain letters may occasionally, but rarely, cause the general rules to be violated for the sake of euphony ; thus, the verb mugana has in the i)erfect tense mugaiguun, not, as might be expected, mugaguan, no doubt, on account of two ' g's' being so near each other.

4. Modifications of the Verb.

A characteristic feature and peculiarity of this aboriginal dia- lect is the use of numerous postfixes. By means of these, the noun shows an unusual number of cases, which supply in a certain measure the absence of our prepositions. In a similar manner, the verb takes additions or changes of its form, by which new forms it expresses its modified significations according to the various relations in which the simple verb may be placed. These tend to enrich the language considerably, since the modified ideas im- plied in them often produce quite a new kind of word or signifi- cation. As new verbs, they may be adjusted to some one or other of the examples already given, agreeably to their terminations. Hence they can never be supposed to be merely conjugations.

For the sake of convenience, I shall carry one verb through the modifications, though it cannot be expected that all verbs are used or needed in every modification. I will take the root-form buma, 'beat,' as the chief example of these modifications, but another suitable one will be always added.

Some of the postfixes in those examples have doubtless lost or changed their original signification in certain verbs.

Examples of the use of Suffixes to modify the meaning of Verbs.

1. Bianna, 'a constancy of action'; as, bumal-bianna, 'to be always beating'; ga-bianna, 'to be always looking.

2. Gunnanna, 'a present continuance of action'; as, bumal- gunnanna, ' to be now beating '; ga-gunnanna, 'now looking on.'

Both of these are used for our participle, but in a definite and indicative way ; but as, like other verbs, they are conjugated, and never employed as adjectives, they cannot be considered as participial forms, but only as modifications of the verbs.

3. Awaigunnanna, 'along continuance'; as, bumal-awai- gunnanna, 'to be beating a longtime'; gagawaigunnanna, 'to be looking on long.' This does not much differ from No. 2.

4. Gar rim ana, ' a continuance of all day long'; bumal-gar- rimana, ' to be beating all daylong'; bunba-gar.rimana, 'to run about all day long.'

5. Guabianna, 'a continuance for the night'; bumallai- guabianna, ' to beat (fight) all the night '; winai-guabianna, ' to sit up all night.'

6. Dillinga (r^ex'iw); as, bumangi-dillinga, ' to beat one's self; mirama-dillinga, 'to defend one's self.'

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