B 505: Lecture on the Aborigines of Australia and papers on Wirradhurrei dialect, 1837-1840

sentences as specimens: Ngannalla main ginsenaldair marong birramalli, That man (a native) is a good guide in the bush, Maldan kalliageri dallan ngalgu, The young man will soon ascend the tree, Ngaddu yalnambilli ngiudi muin dullubasgu, I want to teach the native people concerning their soul. In abstract terms, as we must expect the language is extremely poor, in fact there is hardly a word of an abstract signification, words like vice, virtue, justice, righteousness, generosity or even love & goodness are unknown though they may express the ideas by circumlocation by verbs & adjectives, in concrete terms they are not wording, for every visible object or action, they [original text crossed out] can find an expression. Every variety of wood tree stones shrubs different herbs & grains have their own proper name. They have their declensions for nouns & form a greater variety of cases than most European languages. As a great pecularity they have two nominatives. The simple & the active. Thus, if I ask who is this, suppose it is a boy, they say burai, if I ask who has done this, they say not burai, but buradie. I will here give repeat to you, the declension of

some nouns from the grammar I have written _ [words crossed out] (Mr Gunther here quoted from a grammar of the - Aboriginal language compiled by himself Let me now give you the various tenses of the verb, for they abound in different forms more than any language I have heard of. - Read some conjugations: _ But the greatest peculiarity consists in certain modifications of the verb: as they are very defective in adverbs then modifications make up for them. There are about 20 [word crossed out] such modifications which often serve [word crossed out] form a compound verb: I will just pass one verb through its various modifications that one may better comprehend the peculiarity & use of them. [Margin:] [In numbers they are exceedingly poor, they have in the W. dial. only two, in no dialect have Iheard of more than three. Though if they want to say three] The system or construction of words & sentences may be said is not so much regulated by fixed [word crossed out] rules, but by the stress & emphasis intended by the speaker, so that the words of a given sentence may be variously transferred.

I could have enlarged much more on the subject of their language, but what I have stated will give you or those who are conversant with grammar & different languages some idea of the subject. I would only observe in conclusion that the great variety of dialects would be a great obstacle to instruct them to any extent in their own native tongue were any one missionary even perfectly master of one dialect more especially as a cultivation of the language would be required which it would take some generations to accomplish to [indecipherable] to make their own language the vehicle or means of instruction. I should therefore advise any one who wishes to be useful amongst them to teach them English rather than to undergo the tedious toil of acquiring their own languages or dialects. But their wandering habits their miserable way of existence which prevents a European to live & settle amongst them present the greatest [word crossed out] almost an insurmountable difficulty to do much permanent good amongst them.

Aborigines of Australia Permit L. & G. to make a few pre liminary observatons [original text was crossed out] [original text was crossed out] in reference to the Aborigines of this country before I enter on the various [original text was crossed out] particularly respecting them. And first I would guard you [original text crossed out] [indecipherable] you or one of you should raise your expectations too high and demand perhaps such information as neither I nor anyone else can affect. I fear wandering thinly scattered & utterly uncivilized race as The Blacks of this Country cannot present any features either in their character manner of living [word crossed out] customs, laws that would be highly interestig or instructive. Still I would add if some [word crossed out] should form

too low an estimate of their condition that there is no human race so degraded or so ignorant or so utterly savage as not to present various features of some little interest. There may yet be traced in all the races of the earth a certain ^there are more similarities than unsimilarities [words crossed out] ^ assimilations some kindred feelings & desires, intellectual & other faculties together with defects and inherent evil propensities which prove that they are kindred partaking of one flesh & blood & possessed of a soul however deeply buried in ignorance akin to our own. My next [words crossed out] request is this to bear with me & if my own name & efforts or personal experience should seem to be too much mixed up with the statements [words crossed out] I shall [words crossed out] make you. For [words crossedout] it is from my