220 POLYNESIAN LANGUAGE. 
as well as in the roots of some of the words, 
can easily be proved. Many of the words real- 
ly appear of Hebrew origin: as for example, 
mate, dead; mara, or maramosa, bitter; ra- 
paon, to heal, &c. 
The Polynesian language being so widely 
extended, and spoken by the inhabitants of so 
many islands, who have little or no intercourse 
with each other, it naturally branches into 
many dialects. These are indeed so various, 
that they cannot readily be recognised as deri- 
vatives from the same stock. 
The principal dialects are,—that spoken in 
the Sandwich Islands, or the Hawaian; that 
of the Marquesas; that of New Zealand; the 
Tongatabuan, spoken by the inhabitants of the 
Friendly Islands, and the Tahaitian. All the 
others, as far as they are known, are more or 
less related to these. 
he Tahaitian dialect is distinguished by its 
melody, as it has.no broad or hissing conson- 
ants. The pronunciation is rendered difficult 
by its numerous diphthongs. 
The substantives do not change their termi- 
