THE LANGUAGE OF HAWAII. 
43 
This fact alone explodes the theory that the dispersion of 
terms was the result of intercourse. It is confidently be¬ 
lieved by some philologists that the old Egyptian word ra 
(the sun) is still preserved in the la of Hawaii, as in Hale-a¬ 
ka-la, meaning the house of the sun ; l and r are still inter¬ 
changeable in Hawaii, and the word being not only one of the 
commonest, but also associated with certain forms of worship, 
has tenaciously held its place through all the varying influ¬ 
ence of ages. 
The original home of the Polynesian race was one of the 
Malay islands—probably Sumatra—and the modern Hawai¬ 
ian s exhibit the primitive state of civilization in those islands; 
but the dialects have diverged. The Philippine islands now 
offer the purest type of speech, since here may be found all 
the grammatical forms which appear more or less complete 
in the other groups. These islands, therefore, hold the same 
linguistic place, compared with sister groups, that we find 
exemplified by Tours in France, Valladolid in Spain, and 
Hanover in Germany. By some mysterious law of nature 
these sections have kept their speech nearer the standard, 
and may be fairly designated as the purest type of the com¬ 
mon language. 
Introduction of Spanish Words. —One of the most potent 
factors in the modification of language is commercial inter¬ 
course. Similarity has been noticed between certain Ha¬ 
waiian words and those of identical meaning in Spanish. 
They furnish evidence of early contact between the two 
nationalities. Here are a few examples: 
The words mate in Kanaka and malar in Spanish both 
mean to kill; poko in Kanaka means the same as poco in 
Spanish ; piko means the same as pico in Spanish, as in ka 
piko o ka mauna. 
Where do these native words come from ? Does the fol¬ 
lowing offer any explanation ? 
An old tradition relates that in the reign of Kealiiokaloa 
a foreign vessel was wrecked on the south shore of Hawaii, 
The only persons saved were the captain and his sister. 
