Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/97

 THE GRAMMAR.

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��3. Nouns ending in I require - Zo to be annexed ; as,

P u n n a 1, ' the sun,' p u n n a 1 - 1 o , ' the sun ' ;

Y i n a 1, 'a son,' y i n a 1 - 1 o , ' the son

4. Nouns of throe syllables ending in r o require the accent to

be shifted to the o ; as, M a k o r o, ' fish ,' ni a k o r - o, ' the fish

5. Nouns of three s^dlables ending in r a change the a into 6 ; as, Kokera, ' a hut, house ,' koker-6, ' the house .'

M a 1 1 a r a, ' the hand,' m a 1 1 a r - 6 , ' the hand .'

6. Xouns of four syllables ending in r require r 6 to be added ; as, K u 1 m t i u r, 'a woman's name ,' K u 1 m o t i u r - r d Note. —The participle form of the verb in the passive voice,

when used as an agent, changes the last syllable into r 6 ; as, B u n t o a r a, ' that which is struck ,'

b u n t a r - 6, ' that which is struck ' ;

Yellawaitoara, ' that which sits, squats,'

y e 1 1 a w a i t a r - d, ' that which sits

Of the Cases or Nouxs x^d Pronouns.

It is by the particles that the whole progress of the mind of the speaker is shown, and only by the right use of them may we expect to render ourselves correcth'^ intelligible to the aborigines. The following are used in the declension of nouns and pronouns, according to the terminations and cases of these : —

L. The Simple-nominative case merely declares the person or thing, or the quality, and has no particle added ; as, g a t o a, 'I' ; kuri, 'man'; kiilai, 'wood'; k e k a 1, 'sweet'; m u r r ar a g, ' good.' But particles are used to form nouns ; as, b u n k i y e, ' a smiter,' from the root bun, 'to smite'; k e k al k e, 'sweet- ness' ; or, are used to transform the noun into a verb, which merely declares the abstract action ; as, b li n k i 1 1 i, ' the action of smiting.'

2. The Agent-nominative case denotes the person who operates, and is always known by the addition of the particle o ; but this particle of agency is preceded by a servile consonant, or is accented according to the last syllable of the noun. The personal and instrumental interrogatives, to? 'who?' ko? 'what thing?' are unchangeable; the jjarticles of agency thus attached to the noun are -to,-ko,-lo,-o,-ro.

3. 21ie Genitive case shows the relation of one thing con- sidered as belonging, in some manner, to another ; in the inter- rogative 'who,' and in the names of persons, it requires - li m b a ; as, g a n - u m b a ? ' whose ?' T h r e 1 k e 1 d - u m b a, ' Threlkeld's' ; piriwal-umba, 'the king's ' ; but things and persons require -koba; as, minarig-koba? ' belonging to what thing ? ' kuri-koba, ' belonging to man.' The dual, the plural, and the singular feminine pronouns form the genitive by affixing -ba

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