Under these circumstances many new words must have been invented, and new terms must constantly have been introduced as the population spread across the country, and as those who were constantly pushing on from the outskirts of the inhabited parts ceased to communicate with the districts which had been first peopled, these changes must have been unknown to the original inhabitants of the continent and to those of their descendants who successively inhabited their territory.

If for instance this country was first peopled from the north or the tropical parts, the most remote inhabitants of the southern portions must have invented terms for snow, ice, hail, intense cold, etc., as well as for every tree and bird, for every fish and reptile, and for every insect; all the compound and comparative terms derived from these, as well as the original words, we ought therefore to expect to find totally different in the languages of the north and south, of the east and west; and from whatever portion of the continent we imagine the first inhabitants to have proceeded the same reasoning holds good.

RADICAL IDENTITY OF THE PRONOUNS.

But personal terms, such as the parts of the body, the pronouns, etc., and also verbs describing ordinary actions, ought not to be expected to vary in the same degree; and we shall accordingly find that it is chiefly in words of these and similar classes that the greatest degree of resemblance is found to exist.  With regard to the pronouns this is very remarkable.  In the singular, plural, and dual numbers they almost coincide in Western Australia, South Australia, and Sydney.  The following table of the pronouns as used in those places will show this: 

(TABLE OF PRONOUNS.)

DIFFERENCES OF DIALECT EXPLAINED. EXAMPLES.

To those who have not considered this circumstance languages have frequently appeared to be quite different which in reality are closely assimilated.  Two instances will explain my meaning.  The natives in the vicinity of Perth generally use the word gab-by, or kuyp-e, for water, but those inhabiting a district only twelve or fourteen miles distant from Perth adopt the word kow-win; the word used by the natives in the vicinity of Adelaide in South Australia for water is kauw-ee.  Now, on comparing these words it might have been hastily concluded that the languages of West and South Australia were without affinity; but in fact the variation does not constitute any essential difference, for, considering the interchangeable nature of the consonants b, p, and w, and of g and k, which affect different dialects, we shall find the words gab-by, kuyp-e, kow-win and kauw-ee to be only different forms from one root.  One instance of another kind may be given.  The word for the sun at Perth is nganga, whilst at Adelaide it is tin-dee; but the word used by the natives at Encounter Bay, South Australia, thirty-six miles from Adelaide, is ngon-ge, and the word used in the southern districts of Western Australia for the stars is tiendee:  thus by extending the vocabularies of the two places the identity of the language is shown.