GRAMMAR OF THE TAGGARA LANGUAGE. 
621 
since the white men came in contact with the aboriginals — *e.g., the 
horse (yerenam) is named after the kangaroo (guranam), exactly in 
the same way as, according to Governor Grey, the horse is named 
after the kangaroo in the West Australian dialects, and as, according 
to William Thomas, the cow is named kururnn, after the kangaroo 
(kuru). 
The names of native weapons as adopted by the colonists are 
mostly derived from the Sydney blacks. The boomerang, for instance, 
is called baragan, or bargan, in the Yerongpan language. Only a few 
colonial English words, and some names of localities round Brisbane, 
are derived from the Yaggara language— e.g. y a rough wooden house is 
called a “ humpy,” from the Yerongpan word ngpi, house or camp • 
Humpybong means a dead camp (not houses of the dead) ; Tingalpa 
means land of the fat (kangaroo) ; Yeronga means sandy (Yeerong- 
pilly is a queer corruption adopted by the Railway Department for 
a station behind Yeronga). 
The adjective is, as in the! English language, unchangeable ; it 
has no gender, no number, no case — 
Marumba, good 
Marumba goeranam, a good man 
Marumba goeranamds'in, or 
goer an am pas agon, 
Niewang, beautiful 
Buel, tall 
Ts 'algal, small 
Garun, black 
Giwere, white 
Nangka, hot 
Yigil, cold 
Bandara, strong 
Manmal, weak 
Bayi, ill 
Tinggal, fat 
Mugan, fat. 
marumba 
good men 
Goeranam marumba, the black 
man is good 
Wadli, bad 
Wadli womugiri, the bad brother 
Wadli womugirids'in, the bad 
brothers 
Niua, nice 
The comparative does not differ from the positive form of the 
adjective. It is marked only by the word ngi, “ than,” -which follows 
—e.g., mar urn ban gats 'a, I am good ; maruinbangats'a ngi nginte, I am 
good than you — i.e., I am better than you. The superlative is given 
through a repetition of the positive— e.g., marumba-marumba, very 
good ; wadli-wadli, very bad ; kawae-kawae, very sweet. 
There are few numerals in the Yerongpan language. The 
aboriginals lived in the golden age when no money was invented, and 
no mathematics had to be used to mark the distinction between mine 
and thine. The sea blacks can count up to 5. The Yerongpan 
tribe has a special word only for 1 and 2— 
Coast Tribes. 
is over 
What 
How many 
five. 
Yerongpan. 
Kanyara 
Bullae 
Bullae-kanyara (2 plus 1) 
Darawa-darawa (as much, as 
much) 
Bullae nga bullae kanyara (2 
plus 2 plus 1). 
5 is ds'angil, plenty. Menyembu kupi putninginte ? 
opossums have you killed P Bullae nga bullae kanyara. 
1— Wakol 
2 — Puloara 
3 — IS T oro 
4 — Waran 
5 — Kawul kawul (mucb-much). 
