80 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
as general laws prevailing throughout the Polynesian dialects, that every 
word and syllable ought to end in a vowel; that most of the radical words 
are of two syllables; that the accent is usually on the Penultimate; and 
that the islanders have, as a rule, sharp ears for the distinguishing of 
vowels, but dull ones for consonants. He, also, points out as characteristic 
of Hawaian, and of one or two other of the dialects, that where the k (found 
elsewhere) is omitted, there is, in the middle of the word “a peculiar , 
guttural catch or break.” It would be a very interesting subject for 
research, if missionaries or others, dwelling in the separate islands, and 
. well acquainted therefore, with their marked geographical features, would 
notice whether any (and what) differences exist between the dialects of the 
mountaineers and of the low country people, and what are the laws 
governing the differing pronunciations of languages, presumably the same 
radically. Supposing, for instance, there was still a numerous race of 
natives living in the Canterbury Plains, these people would almost certainly 
speak in Maori, dialectically diverse in many ways, from the Maori of the 
North Island, or even of the west of the Alpine ranges of the Middle 
Island. Languages in narrow valleys between lofty mountains are often 
strangely different the one from the other, though, unquestionably, those of 
one family. 
As it is of great importance to keep clearly in view the nature of these 
changes, I submit, here, a list of them from the Preface to the Hawaian 
Dictionary, drawn up I presume by Mr. Alexander, as it very clearly shows 
what we may expect to find in each case. This list differs, in some slight 
matters, from the opinions quoted by me from Mr. Logan, but, having been 
drawn up on the spot, may, I have no doubt, be quite depended on. 
dha err eee 
Fakaafo. | Samoan. | Tongan. Maori. Rarot. | Tahitian. | Hawaian. | Marquesan. 
F | F | F | WorH | Wanting; ForH H ForH 
K ig K K K " : K 
L L R R R L Wanting 
M M M M M M M M 
N N N N N N N N 
NG NG NG NG NG Dropped N NG, N, or K 
P P PorB ts to Ag 2 ¥ 
8 Ss H H Wanting H H H 
fb P iM T dk ft Tork fy 
Vv Vv Vv WwW v Vv WwW Vv 
ee 
The meaning of this is, that when a word in one dialect begins with a cer- 
tain letter, it will probably be found (if, indeed, it oceurs at all, which is by 
* The apostrophe is to shew the omission of the K mentioned before as producing “a 
guttural catch or break.” 
