Grammar
East-central Tasmanian is used for illustration, unless otherwise indicated.
- Nouns
There is no evidence of plurality or gender. The nominal particle may have marked the end of a noun phrase.
| Eastern Tas. | Western Tas. | |
|---|---|---|
| woman | lowa-na | nowa-leā |
| hand | rī-na | ri-leā |
| kangaroo | tara-na | tara-leā |
Possession was indicated by dropping the nominal particle:
- wurrawa lowa-na 'the wife of the deceased'
- Postpositions
Postpositions, or perhaps case endings, include le/li 'behind', ra 'without', to/ta (change in direction):
There is also an adverbial suffix -re in lene-re 'backwards'.
- lunamea ta 'to my house', nee-to 'to you'
- Adjectives
Adjectives follow the noun, and some end in -ne (pāwine 'small') or -ak (mawbak 'black', tunak 'cold').
- Pronouns
Only singular personal pronouns are known: mī-na 'I', nī-na 'you', nara 's/he'. (In Northeast Tas, these are mi-na, ni-na, nara.) These form possessive suffixes: loa-mi 'my woman'. Pronouns might be incorporated in the verb: tiena-mia-pe 'give me!'.
Demonstrative pronouns are wa/we 'this' and ni/ne 'that': Riena narra wa 'this is my hand'.
- Numerals
marra(wa) 'one', pʲa(wa) 'two'.
- Verbs
The negative particle is noia
- noia meahteang meena neeto linah
- 'I won't give you any water'
- (not give I to-you water)
In Southeast Tas., suffixes -gara/-gera and -gana/-gena appear on verbs. Their meaning is unknown:
- nunug(e)ra 'to wash', tiagarra 'to keep', nugara 'to drink'
- longana 'to sleep', poenghana 'to laugh', winganah 'to touch'
Read more about this topic: Tasmanian Languages
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