Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/385

This page needs to be proofread.

daiu, 'abater.' The -tt'ord -gidyal forms participial nouns; as, kabiuga, 'to begin,' kabin-gidyal, ' a beginning'; winan- ganna, ' to know,' winan-gidyal, ' the knowing,' 'knowledge.'

The terminations -mubag and -mugu denote the absence of some quality; as, uda, 'ear,' uda-mugu, 'deaf; maroug, 'good' marom-mubang, 'bad,' lit., 'good-less.'

Adjectives are formed from nouns by reduplication, or by suffixes; as, wallang, 'stone,' walla-wallang, 'stony'; win, 'fire,' wi-win, 'hot'; ngarru, 'honey,' ngarru-ngarru, 'sweet.' Terminatives are, -durai; as, wallan-durai, 'having stone,' 'stony'; -bang; as, win-munnilbang 'hollow fire- wood,' from munnil, 'a hole ' ; -bang also signifies increase or multitude and thus has a collective force; as, gibbir, 'man,' gibbir-bang, 'many men,' 'mankind'; ingel, 'ill,' ingel- bang, 'very ill.' Durai, as a suffix to a verb-stem, implies ability to perform the action of the verb ; as, bambinga, 'to swim,' bambi-durai, 'able to swim'; yanna, 'to walk,' yannaidurai, ' able to walk ' ; with nouns it also denotes the possession of the thing ; as, yamandu daluban-durai, 'have you a soul,' lit., ' are you soul-having or soul-with ?'

Marra, 'to do,' 'to make,' joined to another verb, or, oitener, to nouns and adjectives, answers exactly to the Latin facio ; as, giwai, 'sharp,' giwai-marra, 'to sharpen'; giw a, 'wet, moist,' giwa-marra, 'to moisten'; gullai, ' net,' gullai-marra, 'to net, to make a net.' Hence the natives join -marra to English verbs ; as, grind-marra, 'to grind'; ring-marra, ' to ring the bell.'

6. C0NJUXCTI0>'S A^D AdTEEBS.

Wargu, widdyua, ' what for,' 'why'? widdy ung, ' which way'? widdy ugguor, ' which side (direction)'? widdyuggu, 'when'? widdyuggaga, ' I don't know when'; minyangan, 'how many'? minyanganga, 'I don't know how many'; minyanganda, 'how many times'? minyangandaga, 'I don't know how many times'; warban (used with yamma- garra), ' how much '?

Da (the d being sounded very soft) signifies locality ; as, dag a, 'where'? dagu, 'of what place'? dagii, 'to what place'? dagannibangalla, ' in what place'? dadibaggalli, dadilabaggalli, 'whence'? dadiurruinbaggalli, 'through what place'? dadibaggallingirriage, 'by what place did he come' ? Each of these by the addition of -ga may become an answer, equivalent to '1 don't know where,' &c. Other a'iverbs of place are: — dain, 'this way,' 'hither'; yain, 'that way,' 'thither'; ngidyi, 'here'; ngauniain, ' over there.'

7. XUMEEALS.

Ngunbai, 'one'; bula, ' two'; bulangunbai, 'three'; bungu, 'four' or ' many '; murrugai, 'first'; umbai, 'last.' e

�� �