[18]. According to a word-list from the beginning of the century this word was used in Port Macquarie (cahbrah), and Port Jackson (cabbra).
Such “civilised” words, however, seldom take root in the language of the blacks. They simply use them in conversation with the white man. Though a few words are carried in this manner from one district to another, this method of transplanting is not of any great importance.
A natural affinity between the languages can with certainty be pointed out. Some words are almost identical throughout the continent. An excellent illustration of this is found in the word for eye.
In Caledon Bay, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, it is mail; Endeavour river, on the north-west coast (16° S. lat.), meul; Moreton Bay (29° S. lat.), mill; Port Macquarie (33° S. lat.), 68 miles south from Sydney, me; Port Jackson (Sydney), mi or me; Limestone Creek (140 miles west of Sydney), milla; Yarra tribe, Victoria, mii; King George Sound (south-west coast, 35° S. lat.), mil; Herbert river (18° S. lat.), mill.
An equally interesting example is found in the numeral 2, which is tolerably constant throughout the continent—bular, bulara, buloara, budelar, burla, bulla, buled, boolray, pulette, pular, pollai, bolita, bulicht, bollowin, etc. Even in Tasmania the word is found, pualih. The words for 1 and 3 are, on the other hand, always different. For comparison I give the following table—
| Numerals. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Near Adelaide, South Australia | kumande | purlaitye | marnkutye | purlaitye-purlaitye | |
| Moreton Bay, Southern Queensland | ganar | burla | burla ganar | burla burla | korumba (much) |
| Boraipar, West Australia | keiarpe | pulette | pulekvia | pulette-pulette | |
| Burapper, S. E. Australia, near Murray river | kiarp | bullait | bullait-kiarp | bullait bullait | |
| Mount Elliot, Northern Queensland, 19° S. lat. | woggin | boolray | goodjoo | munwool | murgai |
| Tasmania, south coast | marrava | pûalih | wullyava | ||
A common root can also be shown in the personal pronoun. I is called ngaia, nganya, ngatoa, ngaii, ngai, ngie, ngan, ngu, ngipa, ngâpe, etc. Thou—inta, nginta, nginte, nginda, ngin, ninna, nindu, nginne, etc.
Upon the whole, though the various languages have but little in common, there are certain peculiarities which may be regarded as characteristic of them all. They are polysyllabic, the accent is usually on the penultimate or antepenultimate, and the words are, therefore, not unpleasant to the ear. Indeed, many of them are full of euphony and harmony. The large number of vowels contributes much to this result. Guttural sounds are particularly prominent. The s sound appears to be very rare. On Herbert river I heard only two words which contained the letter s—suttungo, tobacco, and sinchen, syphilis, and so far as I know, s is found only in the beginning of words.
In grammar the languages also differ widely. At all events, the authors who have sought to discuss these matters thoroughly have arrived at very different results.
Mr. Beveridge, who has studied the languages of Victoria, claims that the syntax is very simple, saying that the various grammatical relations are expressed solely by prolongations, accentuations, and changes of position of the words. Mr. Lang, on the contrary, holds an entirely different opinion. He supports the popular theory that the Australian natives have in the past occupied a much higher plane of civilisation than at present, and thinks he is able to find traces of a decayed civilisation in the languages of the tribes, which in his opinion are very perfect.