372 



PHILOLOGY. 



SING. 1ST DUAL. 



vei au, to me vei ke ndaru, to us two 2o PLURAL. 



kini i au, from or by me kini ke ndaru, from us two ke ndatou, ye and I (un- 

 limited) 



2o DUAL. 3D PLURAL. 



kei rait, he and I kei tou, they and I (limited) 



i kei rau, us two, or of us, &c. 4 PLURAL. 



kei mami, they and I (un- 

 limited) 



In the dialects of Lakemba and Mbua, the nd in all the above pronouns becomes t, as 

 ke taru, ke ta, ke talou; in that of Somusomu, the k is omitted, as, ''oi au, 'e ndaru, 

 ''ei tou. 



In some districts of Vanua levu, ke ru and koi ruka are used instead of kei rau; ru is 

 employed as the nominative to the verb, and oru or aruka as the possessive pronoun. 



Kei ndatou is sometimes contracted to tou, particularly with the imperative, as, tu 

 tou, let us stand together, or stand firm. 



The pronoun of the second person is ko, and is varied as follows : 



SING. DUAL. 1ST PLURAL. 



Koi ko, thou ke mundrau, ye two ke mundou, ye 



i ko, thee, or of thee i ke mundrau, you two, &c. i ke mundou, you, &c. 



vei ko, to thee 2o PLURAL. 



kini i ko, from or by thee munu, ye 



i munu, you 



The second plural, munu, has properly the same signification with the first ; but it is 

 also used in the singular, as a respectful form of address, like " you" in English. In 

 the latter case, it is frequently contracted to nu, as, nu lea, you go (addressed to a person 

 of rank), for ko lako, thou goest. Mundrau and mundou are often contracted to ndrau 

 and ndou, particularly in the imperative, as, ndou lako, go ye. 



The Somusomu dialect has 'oi 'o for koi ko, &c. 



The pronouns of the third person, in the dialect of Lakemba, are as follows : 



SING. DUAL. PLURAL. 



Koi koia, he, she, or it koi rau, they two koi ra, they 



i koi koia, him, of him, &c. i rau, them i ra, them 



vei koi koia ) . . vei rau, to them vei ra, to them 



> to him .... 



or vei vua ) kim ^ rau, from, by them. kmi ^ ra, by them. 



kini koi koia, by him. 



Instead of i koi koia, him, we heard at Ovolau and other places ia appended to the 

 verb, as, au ndomonia, I love him (for ndomoni ia). This form does not occur in the 

 translations of the missionaries. 



The people of Mbua say, instead of koi koia, ko kea, or simply ka. At Somusomu, 

 the common form is Vw 'ea or ''oi ' for the nominative, and 'ea for the accusative, after 

 a verb. At Mbua, also, ratou is used for " they," as well as ra, the distinction being 

 perhaps the same as that between the limited and unlimited plurals of the first person. 



