Tuomson.— Whence of the Maori. lvii 
grammar. As the pronominal affixes are the same in all tenses, these middle 
words become the characteristics by which each tense is distinguished. Thus, 
in this portion of idiom the Malagasi has strong Tamilian affinities, due (if the 
theory I formerly enunciated be admitted) to the archaic connection with 
South Hindustan or Barata, and not, in any way, to its more distant 
connection by relation with Malayo-Polynesia. 
In phonetic comparison it will have been noticed that Malay is nearer to 
Malagasi than to Tongan or Maori, the number of consonants being seventeen 
to sixteen respectively, the letter v being absent in the former, and w and y in 
the latter. Yet the Malagasi is much more vocalic than Malay. It may be 
here stated that there are three dialects spoken in Madagascar—the Ankova, 
the Betsimisaraka, and Sakalava. The former is by far the most copious, 
regular, and extensive, and is the only one as yet in which anything has been 
written or printed. Mr Griffiths characterizes the language as mellitluous and 
soft, and, equally with the students of Malay in the Indian Archipelago, he 
panegyrizes it as the Italian of the South. I could never see this, though I 
have often heard the same sentiment expatiated on. If softness be admirable, 
then we have it advancing to extreme weakness in the eastern and southern © 
parts of Polynesia, where six to eight consonants are all that are possessed by 
cognate tribes. Taking Malay as the middle tongue, it is more masculine 
than the Maori or Tongan, and less vibratory than the Malagasi ; thus— 
Langit, sky, in Malay, becomes lanitra in Malagasi. 
Kilat, lightning, in Malay, becomes helatra in Malagasi. 
Kulit, skin, in Malay, becomes hoditra in Malagasi. 
Here the Malay expressions have abrupt terminations, while those of the 
Malagasi vibrate at the end. In this characteristic the phonology of South 
Hindustan indicates its influence. 
Embracing the whole subject then, we have this fact made patent to us: 
that confined within fifteen degrees of the equator we have one family of 
languages spreading from Madagascar to New Guinea, and thence easterly to the 
extremes of Polynesia, New Zealand inclusive ; but a breach in which, in this 
present era, occurs by the breadth of the Indian Ocean. The two portions of 
the one family situated on the borders of the breach are glossarially and 
phonetically closer to each other than either of these are to those portions 
stretching into Polynesia ; while, idiomatically, the portion on the west side of 
the breach—that is Madagascar—shows Tamilian or South Indian affinities. 
What does this view indicate ? 
That they all are parts of one original family there can be no question, 
for when we advance beyond the limit above assigned, as shown before, we 
meet with Asiatic or Australian nations and tribes, whose languages are 
of entirely different genius. I have already brought to your notice the 
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