Simplification of language

A small number of texts from this period contain evidence for simplified English produced in response to language contact. For example, in late 1790, Hunter

commented that 'now the little children had all learnt the words, hungry, bread'

(Hunter 1968:139). Aboriginal children used the simple Stative combination to solicit food from the colonists. Utterances such as the last are interlanguage produced as individual responses to language learning. However, colonists may have provided the model for this utterance by simplifying their English to facilitate communication with Aboriginal people.

It also is very likely that Aboriginal people simplified their language in order to facilitate communication. There is some evidence for this simplification in the reduced nature of the grammar of the Sydney Language recoverable from

contemporary records (Troy 1994). However, in the absence of a full description of the language it is impossible to recover the pattern of simplification.

In communicating with each other, both Aboriginal people and colonists generally relied on simple statements produced using nominal strings, often enhanced with

gesture (see 2.3.3). For example, Tench recorded three simple nominal phrases which he attributed to Aboriginal speakers (4, 5, 6).

(4) Bul-la Mur-ee Dee-in (two large women). (Tench 1979:177) bula marri dyin

two large woman/wife

(5) Mür-ree Mul-la (a large strong man). (Tench 1979:185) marri mula

large man

(6) Bulla Mdgo Parrabügd (two hatchets tomorrow). (Tench 1979:188) bula mugu barrabugu

two hatchet tomorrow

Although free word order is common in Aboriginal languages these short phrases are not fully predictable in terms of what is known about the Sydney Language. It is also suspicious that each phrase conforms to English word order even in the

placement of the temporal 'tomorrow' in (6). Aboriginal people may have provided the model for the phrases by modifying the nominal phrase structure of their

language to conform to the English pattern. Evidence for the Sydney Language also suggests that bula should suffix to the head noun rather than precede it as a free qualifier (Troy 1994) which in this instance (4) may have been another concession to English by an Aboriginal speaker. The phrases are very characteristic of NSW Pidgin nominal phrase structure as revealed in Chapters 3 to 7. Three of the lexical items in the phrases are found in the lexicon for NSW Pidgin—marri, dyin (jin in NSW Pidgin) and mugu (mago in NSW Pidgin) (see Appendix 21).

Two of the earliest adjectives acquired by the colonists were wiri 'bad' and budyari 'good'98. Aboriginal people used the words in speaking to the colonists as short-hand markers of pleasure or disgust.

Their method of testifying dislike to any place is singular: they point to the spot they are upon, and all around it, crying Wee-ree, Wee-ree, (bad) and immediately after mention the name of any other place to which they are attached, (Rose Hill or Sydney for instance) adding to it Bud-ye-ree, Bud-ye-ree (good). (Tench

1979:229)

98Budjari became a very widespread item via NSW Pidgin. It is even found as a borrowing into the north Queensland language Yir-Yoront where it is pochrry 'peace, peaceful (Alpher 1991:457). Alpher claims the item was 'commonly used by arriving whites in early days to announce their peaceful intentions.

The items were likely to have been amongst the earliest to stabilise. However, while

budyari (budjari in NSW Pidgin, see Appendix 21) entered the lexicon of NSW Pidgin as one of its core items, win only appears in the very early data (3.3.2). The items were often used by the colonists in reduplicated form for emphasis. For

example, when threatened with a spear by an Aboriginal man Phillip cried out 'Wee-

ree, Wee-ree ...bad...you are doing wrong' (Tench 1979:180).

Budjari became one of the most popular adjectives in NSW Pidgin and was well established by the early nineteenth century. There is one example from this time of a

nominal phrase used by the colonists and dated to 1791 in which budjari modifies a

head noun as it would in later NSW Pidgin (7).

They very frequently, at the conclusion of the dance, would apply to us for our opinions, or rather for marks of our approbation of their performance; which we never failed to give by often repeating the word boojery, which signifies good; or

boojery carib-berie, a good dance. These signs of pleasure in us seemed to give them great satisfaction, and generally produced more than ordinary exertions from the whole company of performers in the next dance. (Hunter 1968:145) (7) budyari garabara

good dance

Interjections, particularly greetings and expletives were acquired by both Aboriginal people and colonists and used with maximal effect. The Sydney

language hail now known as 'cooee' was an early borrowing into the repertoire of the colonists". Expletives borrowed from the Sydney Language were often recorded by the colonists although it is not known whether or how they were used by the

colonists. For example (8), 'their general favourite term of reproach is Go-nin-Pat-

ta, which signifies, an eater of human excrement.—Our language would admit a

very concise and familiar translation. They have, besides this, innumerable others, which they often salute their enemies with' (Tench 1979:227). Aboriginal people likewise learnt to swear in English and to use English greetings such as 'good bye' (1:7).

(8) guni-in bada

excrement-AB L eat

2.4 Conclusion

Between January 1788 and December 1792, colonists and Aboriginal people in the Sydney district developed communicative strategies which facilitated cross-cultural communication. The evidence for communication, discussed above, demonstrates a range of linguistic responses by both colonists and Aboriginal people. A few

colonists attempted to learn the Sydney Language and the evidence suggests they did achieve some fluency. Equally, a few Aboriginal people were exposed to English through the attempts by the colonial administration to teach them the language. However, the historical evidence suggests that the social context in Sydney was most conducive to the development of contact language rather than second language acquisition. The combined data confirms that the most salient response to the problems of communication between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Sydney was, at the least, a complex of idiosyncratic jargons and possibly even an incipient pidgin. Anecdotal evidence suggests a communicative system developed that was not completely ad hoc, but, the paucity of substantive linguistic data makes firm conclusions about the nature of the communication impossible. However, the available data demonstrate familiar responses to language contact that are

characteristic of pidgin genesis—borrowing and lexical innovation, language mixing and simplification of languages.

During this period it is certain that a small shared lexicon with a high degree of stability developed and was used as the core feature of cross-cultural communication between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in NSW. In the absence of

substantial textual evidence it is impossible to define a full lexicon shared between the cultures. However, that lexicon is likely to have included the items listed on Table 1 which were borrowed into the Sydney language from English and the

coinages listed in Table 2. The lexicon would also have included a large selection of items from the Sydney language known to the colonists— particularly those items they borrowed into English to label local flora and fauna and artefacts of Aboriginal culture. Notable amongst the lexical items discussed above which were salient in the contact language context are several which became part of the lexicon of NSW Pidgin—marri 'large', narang 'little', budjari 'good', nuwi 'canoe, ship', marri nuwi 'big ship', narang nuwi 'little ship', garadyigan (karadji in NSW Pidgin)

'Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal doctor', wadyiman (waitman in NSW Pidgin) 'non- Aboriginal person', balagaman (blakman in NSW Pidgin) 'Aboriginal person', dyin 'woman, wife', mugu (mago in NSW Pidgin) 'hatchet', garabara (koroberi in NSW Pidgin) 'dance', bada (pata in NSW Pidgin) 'eat', nangara (nangri in NSW Pidgin) and baimbai a marker of future tense.

THE CUMBERLAND PLAIN AND BEYOND, 1 7 9 2 TO 1 8 3 0 : THE INCEPTION