'What' (is it you say? being understood), the blackman not understanding what was asked. Thus arise many of the mistakes in vocabularies published by transient visitors from foreign parts.[1]
In a "Description of the Natives of King George's Sound (Swan River Colony)," which was written by Mr. Scott Nind, communicated by R. Brown, Esq., P.R.S., and read before the Royal Geographical Society, &c., 14th February, 1831, there is an interesting account of the natives, and also a vocabulary, not one word of which appears to be used or understood by the natives in this district; and yet, from a passage at page 24, the following circumstance leads to the supposition that the language is formed on the same principles, and is perhaps radically the same tongue; the writer observes: "It once occurred to me to be out shooting, accompanied by Mawcurrie, the native spoken of, and five or six of his tribe, when we heard the cry, coowhie, coowhiecácá, upon which my companion stopped short, and said that strange blackmen were coming." Now in this part of the colony, under the same circumstances, a party of blacks would halloo, kaai, kaai, kai, kai; which, allowing for the difference in orthography, would convey nearly, if not precisely, the same sound; the meaning is 'halloo, halloo, approach, approach.' Also, at page 20, the same word, used by the natives here in hunting and dancing, is mentioned as spoken by those aborigines in the same sort of sports, viz., wow, which in this work is spelt wua; it means 'move.' Also, at page 28, the phrase 'absent, at a distance' is rendered bócun, and 'let us go away' by bócun oola , or wat oola; here the natives would say waita wolla; see the locomotive verb, in the conjugation of which a similarity of use will be perceived. At Wellington Valley, the names of the things are the same in many instances with those of this part, although 300 miles distant; and, in a small vocabulary with which I was favoured, the very barbarisms are marked as such, whilst mistaken names are written, the natural result of partial knowledge; for instance, kiwung is put down as the 'moon,' whereas it means the 'new moon,' yellenna being the 'moon.' In the higher districts of Hunter's River, my son was lately conversing with a tribe, but only one man could reply; and he, it appears, had a few years back been in this part, and thus acquired the dialect. Time and intercourse will hereafter ascertain the facts of the case.
- ↑ Many mistakes of this kind have been made by collectors of vocabularies; even the word 'kangaroo,' which has now established itself in Australasia, does not seem to be native; it is not found in any of the early lists of words. The settlers in Western Australia, when they first came into contact with the blacks there, tried to conciliate them by offering them bread, saying it was 'very good.' So, for a long time there, 'very good' was the blackmail's name for bread!—Ed.
