POLYNESIAN GRAMMAR. 243 



usual order, and placing the noun in the genitive before the nomina- 

 tive ; in this case, the o or a which precedes the genitive coalesces 

 with the article which precedes the nominative. 



Thus instead of le fale o le alii, the Samoans say lo le alii fale (lo for le o) ; in New 

 Zealand, for te kitpu a te tayata, the speech of the man, we have to te tayata kupu ; in 

 Tahitian, for te maitai o te mau Pharisea, the righteousness of the Pharisees, it is, to te 

 mau Pharisea maitai ; in Hawaiian, te pae aina o Hawaii nei, the islands of Hawaii 

 here, becomes, to Hawaii nei pae aina. In Tongan this construction is only found in 

 the pronouns, where it will be hereafter noticed. 



20. In the dialects of New Zealand and Eastern Polynesia 

 (Tahiti, Rarotonga, Hawaii, &c.,) the same distinction is made be- 

 tween na and no, meaning of, for, concerning, as between a and o. 



As, he wahine na te alii, Haw., a wife for the king ; he fale no te alii, a house for the 

 king. 



In New Zealand, a similar distinction appears to exist between ma and mo, as tetahi 

 mea mo te matuatane, something for the father ; kai ma ratou, food for them. 



$ 21. The dative is formed by prefixing Iti (Tong., N. Z., Rar., 

 Mang., Nuk.,) or 'i (Sam., Tah., Haw.,) to the noun. Before proper 

 names and pronouns this becomes Ma or 'ia. 



Ki he manu, Tong., ki te manu, N. Z., Rar., Nuk., 'i le manu, Sam., 'i te manu, 

 Tah., 'i to manu, Haw., mean " to the bird." Kia Nama, or 'ia Nama, means " to 

 Nama." 



In Samoan and Tongan, a particle of euphony, te, is inserted between the preposition 

 and the pronoun ; as kia te au, Tong., 'ia te au, Sam., to me. In the other dialects it is 

 not found. 



In Hawaiian the 'ia, which should precede proper names and pronouns, is sometimes 

 changed to 'io, as hele mai to ia 'io'u nei, he came to me here ('io'u for 'ia a'u). 



22. The accusative generally, though not always, has the particle 

 i before it. This particle must not be confounded with the ki of the 

 dative, as it has often been in those languages which drop the k. 

 Before proper names and pronouns it becomes ia. 



In Samoan, tafu i le afi, light the fire, is the usual form of expression, though tafu k 

 aft is sometimes heard. 



In Tongan, this use of the i is less common than in the other dialects, but it is occa- 

 sionally met with, as he kuou tamate i ae tagata, I have slain a man. 



In New Zealand, its use is not constant, and it appears to be employed chiefly where 

 precision is required ; eho atuite utu kia Hiha, to give tribute to Csesar ; ya tamariki 

 o ratou i patu i -ga poropiti, the children of those who killed the prophets. 



In Tahitian, Rarotongan, Hawaiian, and Nukuhivan, i is constantly employed as the 

 prefix of the accusative. 



J 23. / is also, in all the dialects, a sign of the ablative, with the 

 meaning of in (place) and by (cause, instrument, &c.) 



