POLYNESIAN RELICS IN MELANESIA. 



131 



p-v 



p-w 



p-h 



P— 



Wango 

 Ambrym 



We shall next subject these Melanesian mutations to a comparison 

 with those which have been observed in the Polynesian family, as 

 set forth in the tables beginning on page 50, confining our atten- 

 tion to the consonants. 



The following changes are common to the two families : L to t, to nd, to dr, 

 to n, these in the same series ; to ng in the palatal series ; to extinction. Of 

 these the most widespread in the Polynesian family are the extinction and 

 the w-change, the others being found in but one language apiece. In the 

 Melanesian family the most widely extended are the extinction and the 

 changes to n and ng. 



Distinctly Melanesian mutations are these: L to j, to m, to //;, to nl, to 

 k, to h, to mj. Of these, \-j identifies itself with the \-t mutation, as will 

 appear in the examination of T; and with this the Baki mj is probably 

 associable as a reinforced /. Similarly the \-th of Bugotu is seen to belong 

 to the \-t mutation when we observe the t-th mutation in that speech. 

 Lamassa nl is a reinforced /. 



The purely Melanesian mutations, then, are 1 to m, to k, to //. 



NG 



Common to the two families are : NG to n, to k, to extinction, the more 

 extended in Polynesia being the first and the third, the ^-change occurring 

 only in the eastern Marquesas and in Viti. The ^-mutation in Melanesia 

 occurs but once, in Aneityum. The change to n is very frequent. Extinc- 

 tion is met with only in Torres Straits, at Dufaure Island and Motu, in the 

 latter speech forming one of the points of great resemblance with Tahiti. 



Distinctively Melanesian are: NG to nj, to nd, to g, to m. The ^-muta- 

 tion is easily seen to be a variant upon the ^-change; it occurs in seven 

 languages of the New Hebrides and in one of the Solomons. 



The purely Melanesian mutations are NG to m, to nj, to nd. 



K 



Common to the two families are : K to g, to ng, to ngg, to extinction. The 

 extinction is the most widely extended in Polynesia, being the rule in 

 Hawaii, Tahiti, and in Samoa where it is so recent that the failure of vowels 

 wholly to glide over the gap is represented by 4 as an alphabetic character 

 under the name of the catch. In Melanesia the most frequent is the 

 ^-mutation, and the extinction comes next in frequencv. 



