| lips | tambamba, | Men. D. | tamande, | G. S. V. |
| star | jingi, | ditto | tchindai, | K. G. S. |
| forehead | ullo, | ditto | ioullo, | G. S. V. |
| beard | yernka, | Adel{ | arnga, | }K. G. S. |
| nanga, | ||||
| bite | paiandi, | ditto | badjeen, | ditto. |
| fire | gaadla, | ditto | kaal, | ditto. |
| heart | karlto, | ditto | koort, | ditto. |
| sun | tindo, | ditto | djaat, | ditto. |
| tooth | }tia, | ditto | dowal, | ditto. |
| edge | ||||
| water | kauwe, | ditto | kowwin, | ditto. |
| stone | pure, | ditto | boye, | ditto. |
In the way of grammatical inflection we find indications of the same unity. We find also differences upon which we should be careful against laying too much stress. The inflection of the number is an instance of the difference. In South Australian—tinyara, a boy; tinyarurla, two boys; tinyar-anna, boys. In Western Australia—yago, a woman; yago-mun, women; goolang, a child; goolang-gurrah, children (gurra, many); doorda, a dog; doorda-goodjal, two dogs; doorda boula, many dogs (boula, many). Here there is a difference where we generally find agreement, viz. in the inflectional (or quasi-inflectional) expression of the numbers. The difference, however, is less real than apparent. The Australian is one of those languages (so valuable in general philology) where we find inflections in the act of forming, and that from the agglutination not of affixes, suffixes and prefixes, but of words. In other terms, inflection is evolving itself out of composition. The true view then of different forms for the same idea is not that the inflections are unlike, but that the quasi-inflectional circumlocutions differ from each other in different dialects. There is no inflectional parallel between two men in English and [a]ἀνθρώπω] in Greek.
Van Diemen's Land, South.—For the south of Van Diemen's Land the language seems radically one. The following is what Cook has in common with Dentrecasteaux (or La Billardière) and Allan Cunningham.
| English. | Cook. | 1803. | D. C. | A. C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| woman | quadne | cuani | quani | |
| eye | evera | nubere | nubere | nammurruck. |
| nose | muidje | mugid | muigui | meoun. |
| ear | koidgi | cuengi-lia { | cuegnilia | }gounreek. |
| vaigui | ||||
| ouagui |
Lhotsky's Vocabulary stands more alone. With the Vocabulary of 1803 and Dentrecasteaux's Vocabulary, it has but three (or two) coincidences:—tongue, mina Lh.; mene, Voc. of 1803: water, lugana, Lh.; lia, Voc. 1803: drink, lugana, Lh.; laina, Voc. 1803. With Allan Cunningham's Vocabulary it has fourteen words in common and three coincident:—nose, minerana, Lh.; meoun, A. C.: tongue, mina, Lh.; mim, A. C.: fire, lope, Lh.; lope. A. C.. Brown and Cunningham coincide a little more than Cunningham and Lhotsky. It is perhaps safe to say, that for the South of Van Diemen's Land the language, as represented by its vocabularies, is radically one.
Van Diemen's Land, North.—In Lhotsky's Vocabulary seven words are marked W, four E, and one S, as being peculiar to the western, eastern and southern parts of the island. One of the four words marked E is found in the Port Dalrymple Vocabulary, being the only word common to the two, e. g. wood, mumanara, E.; moumra, Port Dalrymple. The coincidence of the North and South is as follows:—
| English. | Port Dalrymple. | Brown & D. C. |
|---|---|---|
| belly | magueleni | lomongui. |
| bird | iola | oille. |
| kangaroo | taramei | tara. |
| lips | mona | mogudilia. |
| nose | medouer | mugid. |
| stone | lenn parene | loine. |
| tooth | iane | canan. |
| arms | regoula | rilia. |
About thirty-five words are common to Lhotsky and the Vocabularies of Brown and Dentrecasteaux. From the foregoing observations we may conclude that for the whole of Van Diemen's Land (as far as represented by the Vocabularies) the language is radically one.
Such are the groups as spread over limited areas and confined within natural boundaries. The affinity of speech between different islands is another question.