AUSTRALIA. 



493 



KAMILARAI. 



necessity for such connectives, 

 lowing are sometimes employed ; 



yatvn, and 

 kula, because 

 palilin, therefore 



WIRADUREI. 



The fol- not requiring them. Bit, signifying and 

 or also, is never used alone, but always as 

 a suffix, as, yadu-bu, I also. 



VERBS. 



The verb is the most peculiar, and at 

 the same time the most difficult part of 

 Australian grammar. It has numerous va- 

 riations, many of which are unlike those of 

 any other languages. These variations 

 have all reference either to time or to man- 

 ner, there being no inflections for either 

 number or person, which are always ex- 

 pressed by the pronoun. The root or 

 ground-form of the verb is usually a word 

 of one or two syllables, and to this various 

 particles are appended, which modify the 

 signification, and sometimes protract the 

 word to an extraordinary length. Thus, 

 from the verbal root bu or bun, to strike, 

 we have the forms which follow (the nomi- 

 native pronoun bay, I, being understood): 



1 . Active transitive form : buntan, I strike. 



2. Definite or participial : bunkilin, I am 



striking. 



3. Continuative : bunkililin, I am con- 

 tinually striking (as threshing, beat- 

 ing, &c.) 



4. Reflective : bimkileun, I struck myself. 



5. Reciprocal : bunkilan, we strike one 

 another. 



6. Optative : biiwil, I would strike, or, 

 that I might strike. 



7. Deprecatory: buntea kun koa, lest I 

 should strike. 



8. Iterative : buntea kunun, I will strike 



again. 



9. Imperative : biiwa, strike. 



10. Infinitive : bunkUiko, in order to strike. 



VERBS. 



The verb in this language is as remark- 

 able as in the Kamilarai for the number 

 and peculiarity of its variations. There 

 are eight or nine forms in common use, to 

 express the mode of an action, and no less 

 than fifteen tenses. 



The following are the principal modi- 

 fications : 



1. Active transitive: bumara, I strike. 



2. Participial : of this there are two forms, 

 bumalgunana, and bumalbiana, I am 

 striking ; the former is the most com- 

 mon. 



3. Continuative; formed by reduplication : 



bumabumara, I continue beating. 



4. Reflective : bumalyidyilinya, I strike 

 myself. 



5. Reciprocal : bumalana, we strike one 

 another. 



6. Optative : bumali, that I may strike. 



7. Iterative : bumaldlinya, I strike again. 



8. Imperative : buma, strike. 



9. Infinitive : bumdligu, in order to strike. 



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