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TRANSACTIONS v 



OF THE 



NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE, 



19 9. 



Art. I. — Oceanic Comparatives. 



By Eev. C. E. Fox. 

 Communicated by A. Hamilton. 



[Bead before ike Wellington Philosophical Society, aih May, 1909.] 



Probably most students of Oceanic languages begin by merely comparing 

 words of similar form and meaning in different languages. Later on, the 

 testimony of words to the beliefs of the people, to their common origin, 

 to the position and character of their home before they became scattered, 

 becomes of great interest. But meanwhile cei'tain principles of comparison 

 emerge from the number of comparisons made, and gradually the com- 

 parisons become in consequence sounder. Some comparisons made at first 

 without hesitation are seen to be wrong ones, while many comparisons 

 formerly unthought-of can now be safely made. The following paper de- 

 scribes briefly a few principles of comparison in dealing with Oceanic words. 

 They are principles which seem to be true when tested, but they were ob- 

 tained by collecting a great many examples of comparatives, and then 

 considering these examples to see if they had anything in common. They 

 appeared to conform to certain rules. These rules were then tested by 

 applying them to many fresh comparatives, with excellent results. In the 

 hope that they may be of service to others, or, at least, may be suggestive, 

 it seemed worth while to write them down. 



One side of the subject, however, is not discussed — the question of 

 phonetic changes ; it deserves separate treatment, and is too large to be 

 discussed here. But the principle may be at once laid down that no com- 

 parison should be made of words whose forms are different unless the differ- 

 ence can be explained according to well-known phonetic laws. One might 

 suppose this caution hardly needed, but it is, in fact, generally ignored. 

 One need only quote a sentence from " Maori and Polynesian " : " The 

 Aryan ra (to rest, to be delighted, to love) .... is not far off in 

 oiigin from the root la (to yearn for or desire), which appears in Sanskrit 

 lash (to desire). ... It seems much the same as the Maori rel:a (plea- 

 sant), and, in the other sense of ' calm,' as the Maori ivhakaruru (sheltered 

 from the wind)." Such comparisons may easily be a source of confusion. 

 1— Trans. 



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