Word Detail

(Vintr)

'Outline of the Wamba Wamba Language' - Victorian Languages - a late survey': Hercus L.A., p. 47

The verb 'to be' is not always expessed, which means that 'yuma' is slightly more distinctive in meaning than English 'is'.

Hercus notes: 'Yuma' differs from other verbs in that it usually only takes the tense marker and the 'zero-marker' of the third person' ( ie the 'a' at the end of 'yuma') 'it was never recorded as the head word of a sentence and the subject marker was always expressed as a pronoun or as part of a transferring adverb which began the sentence, e.g. 'kinganda yuma' (here I am) (lit. here-I is).'

Communication Communicating