72 R. H. MATHEWS. 



a written form, has been a tedious and laborious task, the 

 difficult and tangled nature of which can be grasped only 

 by those who have embarked on the same line of investi- 

 gation. Space will preclude the consideration in this 

 article of more than the leading outlines of the constitution 

 of the several tongues. 



In all the languages of Victoria, in every part of speech 

 which is subject to inflection, there is a double form of the 

 first person of the dual and plural — one of which includes, 

 and the other excludes, the individual addressed. Mr. J. 

 Dawson 1 observed two forms of the dual: "We two, thou 

 and I; we two, he and I;" but as he does not refer to 

 this peculiarity in the first person of the plural, I may be 

 pardoned for claiming its discovery in Victoria, having also 

 previously reported its existence in the languages of New 

 South Wales. 2 



In all the dialects having the Tyattyalla structure, there 

 are four numbers — singular, dual, triple and plural. The 

 triple or trial number has also two forms in the first person 

 — one to include the person spoken to, and the other to 

 exclude him. The triple number has also been found by 

 me in the Thaguwurru and Woiwurru tongues, in which it 

 is now reported for the first time. In the eastern portion 

 of the Thaguwurru country, the triple is seldom used — the 

 speech of the people having coalesced with that of their 

 neighbours on the east, among whom the dual only is 

 recognised. 



Among the native tribes of Victoria dealt with in this 

 paper, inflection for person and number is not confined to 

 the verbs and pronouns, but extends to many of the nouns, 

 prepositions, adverbs and interjections, a peculiarity which 



1 Australian Aborigines of Western Districts of Victoria, (1881) p. 49. 

 8 M The Thurrawal, Gundungurra and Dharruk Languages/' — Journ. 

 Roy. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. xxxv., pp. 127-160. 



