Page:The Native Tribes of South Australia (1879).djvu/201

 LANGUAGE. 127 By him it was stolen. Kil ityan pettir. He stole it recently. Thou it stealing. Nginte yan pettin. You are stealing. Pet our ityan. Steal it. I will now give two or three sentences in the language: When must I at Tip? Yaral ap our Tipald? When must I go to Point Sturt? Here to me sugar rice with for. Ak anangk pinyatowe tyilye aldamb. Give me some sugar for my rice. Now by me thee sending. Hik atte um taiyin. I send thee. I to me cutting. Ngap anangk merildin. I cut myself. So I it did. Luk ap atye ellir. I did so. Enough he has been. Kunyitye ellir. He has died. Up will I to the wurley. Loru el ap mantangk. I will go to the wurley. I when they me will lift up, then will by me drawing to me all men. Ngape ungunuk ar an preppani, wunyel atte yultun anangk ngruwar narrinyeri. I.e..— I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. The principal characteristics of the language are ellipsis, and the abbreviation of words. A native speaks of going and coming, continually, without using those words, but short expressions equivalent. Instead of saying, I will go, he says, Up will I Loru el ap; and instead of Come, Moru, or Mare el apDown will I. A word is often expressed in the language by a single letter of it being sounded. Hence the word ngum (thee) becomes um, and often merely m, as Yare matye mitye?What is thy name? Here the whole word ngumauwe (of thee) is expressed by the addition of m to the word atye. Narrinyeri can always express themselves in such an elliptical style as to puzzle a foreigner, however well he may know their language. Proper names of places change their terminations according as the going to, coming from, or being at the place is spoken of; as Tipald, to Tip; Tip angk, at Tip; Tip amant, from Tip. Tip is the name for Point Sturt. The languages of the nations of Australian Aborigines differ very much. The language of the Narrinyeri is as different from the language spoken by the Adelaide tribe as English is from German. The words of the various languages of Australia