THEPACIFICOCEAN. 41;' 



are either exa(flly the fame, or fo little changed, that their '777. 



common original may be fatisfacftorily traced. The Ian- ' r—-J-j 



guage, as fpoken at the Friendly lilands, is fufficiently co- 

 pious, for all the ideas of the people ; and we had many 

 proofs of its being eafily adapted to all mufical purpofes, 

 both in fong and in recitative ; befidcs being harmonious 

 enough in common converfation. Its component parts, as 

 far as our fcanty acquaintance with it enabled us to judge, 

 are not numerous; and, in fome of its rules, it agrees 

 v/itli other known languages. As, for inllance, we could 

 eafily difcern the feveral degrees of comparifon, as ufed 

 in the Latin ; but none of the infledcions of nouns and 

 verbs. 



We were able to colle6l feveral hundreds of the words ; 

 and, amongfl: thefe, are terms that exprefs numbers as far as 

 a hundred thoufand ; beyond which they never would 

 i-eckon. It is probable, indeed, that they are not able to go 

 farther ; for, after having got thus far, we obferved, that 

 they commonly ufed a word which expreifes ar^ indefinite 

 number. A fhort fpecimen, felecfted from the larger voca- 

 bulary, is here inferted, with the correfponding words, of 

 the fame lignification, as ufed at Otaheite, on the oppofite 

 column ; which, while it will give, as we may fay, ocular 

 demonftration of their being dialecfls of the fame language, 

 will, at the fame time, point out the particular letters, by 

 the infertion, omiffion, or alteration of which, the varia- 

 tions of the two dialecls, from each other, have been 

 effedled. 



It mull: be obferved. however, that our vocabularies, of 

 thi^ mud necefTanly be liable to great miftakcs. The 



ideas- of tiiofe, from whom we were to learn the words, 



were 



