Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/88

2 The other consonants are sounded as in English.

Europeans often confound d with t, because of a middle sound which the natives use in speaking quickly; so also they confound t with j, from the same cause.

The language requires but one marked accent, which serves for the prolongation of the syllable; as, b ó n, 'him'; b ú n, the root of 'to smite.' The primitive sound is thus retained of the vowel, which otherwise would be affected by the closing consonant; as, b u n, the root of the verb 'to be' accidental, rhymes with the English word 'bun,' but bún, 'to smite,' rhymes with 'boon.'

In forming syllables, every consonant may be taken separately and be joined to each vowel. A consonant between two vowels must go to the latter; and two consonants coming together must be divided. The only exception is Ng, which is adopted for want of another character to express the peculiar nasal sound, as heard in h a n g e r, and, consequently, is never divided. The following are general rules:—

1. A single consonant between two vowels must be joined to the

latter; as, ku-ri, 'man'; yu-rig, 'away'; wai-ta, 'depart.'

2. Two consonants coming together must always be divided ;

as, tet-ti, 'to be dead,' ' death' ; b u g-g ai, ' new.'

3. Two or more vowels are divided, excepting the dipthongs ; as,

gato-a, 'it is I ' ; yu-aip a, 'thrust out.' A hyphen is the mark when the dipthong is divided ; as, ka-uw^a, 'may it be ' (a wish) ; ka-am a, 'to collect together, to assemble.'

4. A vowel in a root-syllable must have its elementary sound ;

as, b u n k i 1 1 i, ' the action of smiting ' ; t a, the root-form of the verb, ' to eat.'

Accentuation".

In general, dissyllables and trisyllables accent the first syllable ; as, p u n t i m a i, ' a messenger ' ; p i r i w a 1, 'a chief or king.'

Compound derivative words, being descriptive nouns, have the accent universally on the last syllable; as, wiyellikan, 'one who speaks,' from wiyelli, 'the action of speaking'; so also, from the same root, wiyelli-gel, 'a place of speaking,' such as, ' a pulpit, the stage, a reading desk.'

Verbs in the present and the past tenses have their accent on those parts of the verb which are significant of these tenses ; as, tatan, 'eats'; wiyan, 'speaks'; wiya, 'hath told.' This must be particularly attended to; else a mere affirmation will become an imperative, and so on; as, ka-uwa, 'be it so, (a wish) ; k a-u w a, ' so it is ' (an affirmation).