GRAMMAR 

 OF THE POLYNESIAN DIALECTS. 



ORTHOGRAPHY. 



1. The elementary sounds proper to the Polynesian languages 

 are fifteen in number, namely, the vowels a, e, i, o, u, and ten conso- 

 nants,/", k, I, m, n, ~g, p, s, t, v. 



The only dialect, so far as is known, in which all these letters are found is that 

 spoken in the two groups of Fakaafo and Vaitupu. In the other dialects, some of these 

 letters are dropped entirely, and others changed. 



In Samoan, the k is dropped, its place being merely indicated by a hiatus or catching 

 of the breath, as alffi for aliki, 'a'ano for kakano. 



In Tongan, the k is retained, but the s is changed to h, as hahake for sasake, aho for 

 aso. The t in this dialect, where it precedes i, has a sound not unlike the English ch, or 

 like ti in Christian ; the missionaries have represented this sound by a j, as jino for 

 tino (pron. chind). 



The New Zealand dialect changes the s to h, the I to r, the v to w, and the/, before a 

 and e to w, before o and u to h, and before i commonly to u>, but sometimes to h ; as 

 heke for seke, waka for vaka, ware for fale, vetu for fetu, hoe for foe, huri for fuli, witi 

 torfiti, and hia for fia. If two fs occur in the same word, preceding an a or an e, the 

 first/is usually changed to w, and the second to h ; as waha for fafa, wehe for fefe. 



The dialects of Rarotonga and Mangareva lose both the/and the * entirely, and have 

 r instead of I ; as are for fale, ae for sae. 



The Paumotuan has the same elements as the New Zealand, except that the/ is some- 

 times heard in place of the w. Many of its words assume peculiar forms unlike those of 

 any other dialect ; as mateu for matou, mauya for maua. The k is sometimes intro- 

 duced in words where it does not properly belong, as reko for reo, voice ; kakuenei for 

 akuenei, soon. 



The Tahitian dispenses with both k and y ; the * is changed to h ; the / before a and 



