Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/87



is the right expression of the sounds of the words of a language.

Words are composed of syllables, and syllables of letters. The letters of the language of the aborigines of New South Wales are these:—

A B D E G I K L M N Ng O P R T U W Y.

Note.—It is very doubtful if d belongs to their alphabet; the natives generally use the t.

A is pronounced as in the English words 'are,' 'far,' 'tart.

E is pronounced as slender a in 'fate,' or e in 'where.' I is pronounced as the short i in 'thin,' 'tin,' 'virgin,' or e in 'England.' O is pronounced as in the English 'no.' U is pronounced as oo in the words 'cool,' 'cuckoo.'

When two vowels meet together they must be pronounced distinctly; as, noa, niuwoa, the pronoun 'he'; bountoa, 'she;' so also when double vowels are used in the word; as, wiyéen, 'have spoken.'

A diphthong is the union of two vowels to form one sound; as

1. ai, as in kul-ai, 'wood'; wai-tawan, ' the large mullet.*

2. rtw, as in nan- wai, ' a canoe' ; tau- wi 1, ' that... may eat.' 8. w, as in niu-woa, the pronoun 'he' ; paipiu-wil, 'that

it may appear.'

ATo/e. — ai is sounded as in the English word ' eye' ; au as in
 * cow' ; iu as in ' pew.'

Consonants.

G is sounded hard, but it often has also a soft guttural sound ; g and k are interchangeable, as also k and t.

Ng is peculiar to the language, and sounds as in 'ring,' 'bung,* whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.

E, as heard in ' rogue,' ' rough ' ; whenever used, it cannot b& pronounced too roughly; when double, each letter must be heard distinctly.