CHAPTER VI. 

 EFATE AND VITI AND POLYNESIA. 



Comparison of the vowels of the Melanesian element of Efate and 

 Viti — The establishment of consonantal variety — The assumption of 

 a parent speech from which these deviate — The Viti appears to be 

 the younger son — The comparison continued through the Sawaiori 

 element of Viti — Viti, Samoan and their parent speech, the Proto- 

 Samoan — Comparison of Efat6 with Polynesian and summation of 

 results— The extent to which Efate identifications penetrate into Poly- 

 nesia — Argument from recorded anomalies — It is improbable that 

 Efate received its Polynesian content through westward drift of casta- 

 ways — Proof that this element came through the migration of Proto- 

 Samoan wanderers — Check-list of Polynesian phonetic mutations. 



At the eastern extremity of the language groups which it is sought 

 to associate into this Oceanic family we have two firm, if unsaintly, 

 foundations, the Polynesian (or Sawaiori of Whitmee's proposed 

 nomenclature, convenient even if not wholly acceptable), and the 

 Viti. Such element of the Viti, somewhat less than half of the 

 vocabulary according to my estimate, as is not identifiable with 

 the Sawaiori we assume to be of Melanesian origin. The larger 

 element we shall consider in its clear connection with the Sawaiori. 

 We shall examine the Efate first in its relation to the Melanesian 

 Viti ; thence we shall proceed to the examination of the Efate in its 

 relation to the Sawaiori with the inclusion of so much of the Viti 

 as properly pertains to that stock; last of all to the consideration 

 of the element of Efate which appears in the Sawaiori without 

 having left an impress upon the Viti. 



The data 1-47 in Appendix I enable us to complete our con- 

 spectus of the material in Efate which is identifiable with that 

 element in the carefully wrought-out Viti vocabulary which has not 

 been identified with any of the equally familiar tongues of Polynesia. 

 Two explanations here are possible: the former that this is truly 

 a portion of the Melanesian component of Viti; the latter that this 

 element is Polynesian, but that it has failed of preservation in the 

 eastward languages. The former we adopt provisionally as by far 

 the more probable. 



Now let us sum the observations as to the phonetic relations of 

 Efate and the Melanesian component of Viti, and first the vowel 

 system. 



By far the largest mass of vocalic dissimilarities in the data under 

 study lies within the area of the neutral vowel. I have* already 



*I7 Journal of the Polynesian Society, 87. 



35 



