POLYNESIAN GRAMMAR. 239 



In Tongan we have oyo, yahi, kau, tuya,faya, fuifui, otu. Oyo is used only in the 

 dual, and in fact supplies the place of the word two, though it precedes the noun, while 

 the numeral would follow ; as koe oyo akau, the two trees. Itahi is the most general 

 plural sign, as koe yahi akau, the trees. It is questionable whether this be derived from 

 the plural article ija, which we find here only in certain numerals, as yakumi, yakuu, 

 yeau, the plurals of tekumi, tekau, and teau (v. ante 11). Kau has the same meaning 

 as au in Samoan, as koe kau tufuya, the workmen (i. e. a party employed together). It 

 does not always make the word to which it is prefixed plural, but sometimes retains its 

 independent signification of company, band, as koe kau vaka, the crew of a vessel. 

 TuTja has a similar force. Fayd means a flock or herd, and is used only of the lower 

 animals, as koe faya buaka, a herd of swine ; koe faya moa, a flock of fowls. Fuifui 

 applies only to birds, as koe fuifui lube, a flight of pigeons. Otu is the same with atu 

 in Samoan, as koe otu motu, the islands. Note. Tamatii, child, makes tamaiki in the 

 plural, and tehina, younger brother, has foto prefixed to it ; as, ko hoku foto tehina, my 

 younger brothers. 



New Zealand. This dialect has but one plural sign, ya, which never takes an article 

 before it, as ki ya tohu o ya iaimi, to the signs of the times. Kau is used in some 

 compounds, as te kaumatua, the ancestors, the ancients. 



The Rarotongan has puke, ya, aroya, au, ui, and ai. Puke is only for a small 

 number, and chiefly in the dual, as ta raua puke kupeya, their (two) nets ; ya is also 

 for a limited number, and is commonly used with a numeral, as ya taleni arima, five 

 talents ; it never has the article before it. Aroya and au are collectives in frequent use, 

 ta ratou aroya kupeya, their (several) nets ; te aroya ayelo, the angels ; te reira au 

 tuatua, those things. Ui is a collective applied to persons, as te ui ariki, the princes ; 

 te ui tauya nunui, the chief priests. Ai occurs only with words expressive of relation- 

 ship, as toku ai metua, my parents ; toku ai tuaine, my sisters. We find aroya used 

 also independently, as, tetai aroya, some ; te aroya i ta, those who killed. 



The only plural particle contained in our Mangarevan vocabulary is mau, as a man 

 tayata ua, all men ; but others, no doubt, exist in the language. 



The Tahitian has na, mau, tau, pue, and hui. Na denotes, in general, a small 

 plurality, two or three, as na metua, the parents, father and mother ; na taata, the men, 

 a small number ; but it may denote a great number, when it is uncertain. Mau is an 

 unlimited plural, as mau taata, men; mau metua, parents, in general. Tau denotes a 

 small indefinite plurality, as aita rea tau taata rii, but few men, two or three. Pue and 

 hui are collectives, as pue arii, the royal family, or principal chiefs ; pue raatira, the 

 body of subordinate chiefs ; hui arii and hui raatira have nearly the same meaning ; 

 but pue taata seems an exception, as being more limited ; hui hoa is a general word for 

 friends. [The foregoing is extracted from the Tahitian Grammar of the English mis- 

 sionaries ; on referring, however, to the translations, by the same authors, we find the 

 pue and na used very much as puke and ya in Rarotongan, as toopiti pue taata, two 

 men ; na taleni erima, five talents. It should be observed that na is never preceded by 

 the article, while all the rest admit of this construction.] 



In Hawaiian, the plural signs are na, mau, poe, pae, and puu. Na is the most 

 common, and expresses a plural indefinitely large ; as, na manu o ta lewa, the birds of 

 the air. Mau does not apply generally to a great number, rarely more than ten. Poe 

 restricts the noun to a particular company or set of persons or things spoken of, as ta 



