n - University of Newcastle

AS AUSTRALIBh- LANGUAGE.
I
' THE AIINTTINC: DIALECT
FrER ES.
4 (6). SDFFISES TO VERBS.
Inlpevntice n12d d$i,.nzntive FOYIILS.
The imperative, in the Nin yug clialect, is the sirq)lest form of
the verb ; it rill therefore be quotecl as the stein of the verb. In
true verbs, it ends in -n or -e; as, kulga, 'cut,' bngge, ' fall.' If
the -a or -e is cut off, there remains the root of the verb, and to it
the verbal sufixes are attacbecl. These are very numerous, and
appear, at first sight, to be very complicated ; but tlle whole may
be simplified bjr taking them in the following order :-(I) Final
stfixes; (3) Internal strengthening particles or letters ; and (3)
Separable clemonstrative particles. The usual final suffixes nrp :-
1. -a, -e, used iil ~iring a commaild or in expressing a wihh.
5. -nlcc, --aln, clenoting present action.
3. -an, clenoting future actiou.
4. -n?tne, -inne, -zcnne, clenoting unfinishecl past action.
5. -oro. cleliotinz finished action.
"
6. -en,, the historical past tense ; often an aorist l)rtrt,iciple.
7. -ilz?ac~, usecl, but rarely, as a participle.
8. -inn, past time ; ~vith passive sense, when required.
9. -in, -2, -c&, when usecl with a leading verb, has a futurr
meaning, but it is gsnerally the infinitive or noun form to esprexs
verbal action.
10. -ni, may be callecl the subjunctive, but the verb cloes not
take this form in all positions where me inight expect n subjunctive
to be used.
11. -e?zcle?z, -zcncle?r, -cc?lcle?~, is probably clerix-ed froni kinder,
the sixth form of which is kiqzclelz. It adds the idea of 'ntacle '
or 'did ' to the root iclea of the verb. It is sometimes equil-alent
to the passive, and at times it becomes the foundation of another
verb, so that there are such forms -e?zcletae, -e~~clelo~o, kc. It sometimes
takes, between it and the root, the strengthening particles
of the next paragraph.
15. The internal strengthening particles are (1) le, I, v, ye, (2)
g, ny-g, iny-9, a.ncl (3) b. These are inserted between the root and
and the final sax, ancl are sometimes con~pouncled together, so
that there are such form as ganlle and balle. These particles add
but little to the meaning. It may be that le or re gives a. sense
of continuance to the action, so that while nln is a simple present,
while ablcb may be a progressive present. This, however, is very
doubtful. In fact, it may be stated, once for all, that while there
is an abundance of forms, the aborigines do not seem to make
rery exact distinctions in meaning between one form and anotl~er.