134 THE POLYNESIAN WANDERINGS. 



Now, vertical and horizontal are convenient terms to employ when the 

 conspectus is before the eye, but as terms they have no real value in nature. 

 That which it is of value to recognize is that which underlies this talk 

 of vertical mutation, of labial, lingual, palatal invariability. That all- 

 important underlying fact is this : no matter which of the three organs of 

 speech mechanism this early speaker elected to employ for the expression 

 of any given sense he does not change to another organ in case the result 

 is not satisfactory, and this holds true with his remotest descendants 

 wherever they may to-day be found. A novice at the trade of speaking, 

 he may fumble the tool he has chosen to employ, but, being man and 

 obstinatively progressive, he sticks to the use of that same tool until he 

 has learned the knack of it. 



Accordingly we are to omit all such instances from our discussion 

 of the Melanesian dealing with Polynesian material, for inasmuch 

 as the mutations are found in Polynesia without exterior influence 

 we can not prove that similar vertical mutations when found west 

 of Viti are due in any degree to Melanesian influence. 



The motion in each series is downward, excepting, of course, the 

 three mutes which stand at the foot of each column and whose 

 vertical motion can only be upward. Any exception, therefore, to 

 this general downward motion of mutation calls for attention. 

 There are but three such. 



i. K-y. This is found only in Tanna yasuk (251) rat. As set 

 forth in the note upon this item the matter is too obscure to serve 

 as a satisfactory base for any deduction. 



2. S-r. This is found only in isd (337) bad Tanna ra, a poor 

 language from which to draw conclusions, particularly when the 

 instance is unique. 



3. V-u. This, with the x-w, which involves no more vital a dis- 

 tinction than an alphabetic symbol, is truly an upward motion on 

 our charts of the sounds. But under the appearance there is a 

 deeper principle. In the labial mutations we find such forms as 

 m-mw, p-pw, p-kpw, p-bu, x-ku. If we are to interpret m-mw, for 

 instance, as implying that m stands fast and at the same time moves 

 upward, we are at once engaged with the phonetics of Sir Boyle 

 Roche's bilocal bird. It becomes clear that the nucleus of all the 

 labials is the vowel- semivowel u-w. In another place I comment 

 upon the fact that the Melanesians have but recently begun to 

 acquire command of their lips, not as yet facile. Thus the pri- 

 mordial semivowel persists with the consonant which is evolving 

 therefrom, plumule and cotyledon breaking ground together to tell 

 the tale cf origins. 



When these vertical mutations are omitted we shall find a con- 

 siderable number remaining which we are justified in characterizing 

 as Melanesian. They are the following, some effort having been 

 made to assort them in reasonable groups. 



