CHAPTER I.
PRONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY.
Pronunciation is the right expression of the sounds of the words of a language.
Words are composed of syllables, and syllables of letters. The letters of the language of the aborigines of New South Wales are these:—[1]
A B D E G I K L M N Ng O P R T U W Y.
Note.—It is very doubtful if d belongs to their alphabet; the natives generally use the t.
Vowels.
A is pronounced as in the English words 'are,' 'far,' 'tart.
E is pronounced as slender a in 'fate,' or e in 'where.' I is pronounced as the short i in 'thin,' 'tin,' 'virgin,' or e in 'England.' O is pronounced as in the English 'no.' U is pronounced as oo in the words 'cool,' 'cuckoo.'
When two vowels meet together they must be pronounced distinctly; as, noa, niuwoa, the pronoun 'he'; bountoa, 'she;' so also when double vowels are used in the word; as, wiyéen, 'have spoken.'
A diphthong is the union of two vowels to form one sound; as
1. ai, as in kul-ai, 'wood'; wai-tawan, ' the large mullet.*
2. rtw, as in nan- wai, ' a canoe' ; tau- wi 1, ' that... may eat.' 8. w, as in niu-woa, the pronoun 'he' ; paipiu-wil, 'that
it may appear.'
ATo/e. — ai is sounded as in the English word ' eye' ; au as in
- cow' ; iu as in ' pew.'
Consonants.
G is sounded hard, but it often has also a soft guttural sound ; g and k are interchangeable, as also k and t.
Ng is peculiar to the language, and sounds as in 'ring,' 'bung,* whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
E, as heard in ' rogue,' ' rough ' ; whenever used, it cannot b& pronounced too roughly; when double, each letter must be heard distinctly.
- ↑ See Phonology, page 3.—Ed.
