V.] THE OCEANIC NEGROES : AUSTRALIANS. 147 



Strong support is given to this assumption by the absolutely 

 independent and uniform character of Australian 

 speech. The divergences from a common aggluti- Australian 

 native form, radically distinct from any other, are 

 far less than the divergences of the American tongues from a 

 common polysynthetic form, while the phonetic system may be 

 described as everywhere identical. A few traces of sibilants have 

 been noticed, but practically these sounds are unknown to all 

 the Australian dialects. Here we have complete accord between 

 linguistic and anatomical characters, both alike arguing for a 

 common racial origin 1 . All attempts to affiliate this group to 

 the Dravidian of Southern India, or to any other, have signally 

 failed, as we see from the " proofs " of affinity with " words used 

 by the Aryan race " put forward by Mr S. Bennett, Mr Taplin and 

 others 2 . Thus kiradjee, a doctor, is equated with the Greek 

 Xeipoupyos, whereas the comparison, to prove anything, should be 

 with the Greek \^, a hand, and epyov, work, terms not found in 

 any Australian dialect. So mah, to strike = Hindi mah, which 

 should be mar, as mdh means month, and mah nothing at all ; and 

 it will hardly be credited that cobbera, head, is collated with English 

 cob, and Spanish cobra, which should be Portuguese, only in that 

 language cobra does not mean head, but snake. And the whole 

 process is unscientific, all the native dialects being ransacked for 

 likely words, which are then compared, not with a particular Aryan 

 tongue, but with all of them, ancient and modern, and even with 

 Hebrew, or Arabic, or "Moorish" {gibber- GY/?r-altar), which are 

 not Aryan, but Semitic. Hence, if the comparisons could be 

 established, the logical inference would be that the Australians 

 are proved by their languages to be an amalgam of Aryans and 

 Semites, living and dead, from all parts of Europe, Asia, and 

 Africa. For this reason the comparisons made by Mr Curr 

 with African Negro languages 3 must also be pronounced worth- 

 less. 



1 The absence of sibilant sounds is attributed by Prof. Macalister to the 

 macrodont alveolar arch and corresponding modified tongue, which make their 

 utterance a difficult feat to accomplish {Paper, Brit. Ass. Edinburgh, 1891). 



2 In R. Brough Smyth's Aborigines of Victoria, 1878, Vol. II. p. 5 sq. 



3 I. p. 171 sq. 



10 2 



