;326 W. G. Ivens: 



which signify parts of a whole, members of a l^ody ; things which 

 can stand in a certain relation to some inchisive whole." (" Mel. 

 Lang.," p. 141.) Nouns with these terminations are found in the 

 vocabularies of the Banks' Islands' and New Hel)rides' languages 

 for "beliy," "body, "bone," "child," "ear," "egg^" "fnce." 



Dr. Codrington states that these terminations are not found in 

 the Polynesian languages, or in Fiji. Tliis statement is un- 

 doubtedly correct in regard to the greatei- number of the Nouns 

 or subdivisions of the class of Nouns which he instances, 1)ut it 

 will be found that a great number of the Oceanic languages which 

 do not otherwise show any trace of these terminations, yet have 

 terminations in n or iia in Nouns signifying mendjei-sliip of a 

 body, or relationship, e.g., father, mother, Itrother (but not in- 

 cluding child, husband, wife). 



It is almost impossible for one accustomed to tlie practice of the 

 Melanesian languages to believe that the Maori word taina brother 

 does not really mean "his brother," and so also with iupuna an- 

 cestor, which means in Mota "his ancestor," but comparison with 

 Nengone tenene child, where tene is the stem, and with Anaiteum 

 netgan belly, nohun body, naklin egg, Motlav nten child, flen ^^, 

 shows that the final na in taina is a Noun termination, and not 

 the Suffixed Pronoun. In the Banks' and New Hebrides' languages 

 this Noun termination is dropped when the Pronoun is suffixed, 

 Mota natui son, nofiina his son, Nengone tenene child, tenego my 

 child; but since the Polynesian languages do not suffix the Pronoun 

 to the Noun, the na or ne of the Independent Noun form remains 

 constant. Ordinarily in Ulawa and Sa'a the words expressing re- 

 latiotiship have no particiilar termination as such, but when cer- 

 tain Prefixes are used to mark reciprocity of relationship or of 

 kinship, ma, ma, hn'i, lie'i, the Noun to which they are affixed 

 always has the termination na or ne; nlke wife, ro ha' i nikana 

 a man's wife and child ; m.u he'i malahune friends; uweli (Vocative 

 only) a boy's uncle, a man's nephew, (sister's child) ro ma uweline 

 uncle and nephew; ro n\a 'asine brothers, mu ma 'asine brethren; 

 I'o ma hunaonn father- and son-in-law; ro ha' i ma'amana father 

 and son. Thej'o .seems to be no reason to doubt that the termina- 

 tion na seen in these Sa'a words is identical with the na seen as a 

 termination of the words expressing relationship in other Oceanic 

 languages. In Sa'a and Ulawa all the words expressing kinship 

 (and the word for " friend " also), except those for " wife." " hus- 

 band," " father " (when in the Vocative), " child," are never used 



