382 PHILOLOGY. 



CONSTRUCTION. 



As the Vitian has no inflections, the only rules of syntax which apply to it are such as 

 relate to the arrangement of words in a sentence. Many of these rules have been already 

 given. The following is a general summary of the most important. 



The adjective follows the noun which it qualifies. 



The nominative, if it be a pronoun preceded by ko or koi, usually follows the verb ; 

 other pronouns commonly precede. 



If the nominative be a noun, it generally follows the verb; and if the verb have a pro- 

 noun for its object, then the nominative comes after the object, as sa Sandra a sipa, the 

 sun rises ; sa Zako mai na kai Mbua (R.), the Mbua people are coming; sa lomani au 

 ko Seru, Seru loves me. 



Adverbs generally follow the verb, as ndromu ndole a si~ga, the sun sets l<> soon; ka 

 na vakasavasavatakina sara koikoia, and he will thoroughly cleanse. 



The negatives precede the verb, as, sa seya ni kila koiau, I do not know , e na tawa 

 mbula a tamata, man shall not live ; tawamboko, no end, endless ; e ra nti Sau mate 

 (Sam.), they shall not die. 



The same word is frequently noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, according to the con- 

 struction of the sentence ; thus mbula means life, to live, alive, living ; siri is wrong, to 

 err, error, erroneously, &c. The verb, if transitive, is usually distinguished by its suffix, 

 and the noun by its article or preposition. 



Sometimes a verb, or a part of a sentence, is treated as a noun, and takes a possessive 

 pronoun before it, instead of a nominative, as, i na ona tawa mboki ra, because he could 

 not find them, lit. for his not finding them ; vaka na neitou vakandandonutaki ra (R.), 

 as we forgive them, lit. like our forgiving them. 



The natives of Viti, like those of Samoa and Tonga, in speaking of or to their chiefs, 

 employ certain terms distinct from those in ordinary use. They are principally the 

 names of the parts of the body, and of some of the most common acts, as, to eat, speak, 

 sit, sleep, and the like. By a singular coincidence of idiom with many European lan- 

 guages, the plural pronoun munu or kemunu, you, is used as a respectful mode of 

 address to a single person ; in which case it is frequently contracted to nu. Vua, him, 

 is also generally used as a term of ceremony, instead of the oblique cases of koikoia. 

 The following list, given by Mr. Cargill, comprises most of the words of this description : 



CEREMONIAL. COMMON. ENGLISH. 



*"&* Sika ophthalmia 



aka, tembenikula lit/a hand or arm 



kulinisambula kuli skin 



ka, wakoJo lako to go 



lomanikoro vale house 



mbale mate death ; to die 



milamila mbaSa disease, sickness 



ndakunivesi ndaku the back 



ndratambu ulumatua the first-born 



ttttuvi a cloak 



