BY HERMANN B. RITZ, M.A. 5jv 



Still, in most instances, the differences and analogies,., 

 taken together, are snflficientl_v consistent to allow us 

 to formulate some general rules. 



We must remember, also, that the language did not 

 spring into existence in the form recorded, though it 

 did, no doubt, begin in a form completely satisfying 

 all the requirements at that time. If my theory is cor- 

 rect, the four words on which all the rest are built show- 

 an absolutely primitive form of human speech ; previous 

 to it there can have been no linguistic thought, and 

 the utterance must have been confined to inarticulate 

 animal cries. The subsequent word-formation was a 

 subconscious operation, based on heredity, environment,, 

 and habit turned to instinct. 



The primitive state in which the Tasmanian Abo- 

 rigines were found by the Europeans, argues that their 

 logical skill had been confined to the immediate needs 

 of their bodies, and that their language was in a simi- 

 larl}^ primitive state. The four words still sufficed to 

 express their thougdits, and thus their recorded speech 

 carries us back to the beginning of human society. 



Thus, the four syllables form the permanent skeleton 

 of the Tasmanian language, and their combinations and 

 variations are the body, which is specifically different 

 in each individual, though genericallv it is the same in^ 

 all. 



We may now state some general principles of varia- 

 tion : — 



(i) Medial and initial g is often elided, replaced by w 

 or y, or represented by o or u. 



This phenomenon is observed in several European, 

 languages, ranging from Greek to English. In Tas- 

 manian we have, e.g., proguna and pruana, smoke; 

 pruga, paruga, bosom ; perenna, spear ; and proina, 

 proigh, proingha, broii, proibi, big; ganna and yanna, 

 teeth ; ngune, une, wane, fire ; kana, wana, ona, to speak. 



(2) The places of the vowels are chosen arbitrarily. 



We may have prosthetic vowels, as in ali, good,,, 

 which seems identical with li, moving, alive, useful; 

 anamana, hand, from namana, strong ; enganema, eagle- 

 hawk, from ngonina, bird, which is in itself derived from, 

 naganina or laganina, the small, flapping thing. 



