m a n n e r s underilqod. W e found, however,, that ,the language Tpoken a t
Eafter. ifland, the Marquefas, the Low, the Society, and Friendly-
iflands, and in New-Zeeland, is the .fame, and that -the differences
are hardly fufficient to, .conftitute dialedbs. Th e languages
fpoken at the New-Hebrides,, New-Caledonia, and N ew -H o l-
land, are abfolutely diftindt from the above general language, and
likewife differ among themfelves. From a compati,fan o f the vocabularies,
in Schouten and le Maire’s voyage, with otic collected
at the Eriendly-iflands, it appears, .that they fpeàk entirely the
fame di-alefi, in the Friendly midlands, and in.thofe o f .Mope, -Coco’s,,
and Traitor’s, to the North o f the above Blands. I f we may be
allowed to make an inference from one fmgle word, I fhould think
that at Chkayana, * a low ifland, four days fail from Taupiaco.,
the fame dialedt,is fpoken, fip.ee ti-curi or tee-gho.oree, is, ip both
places th e name fo ra dog; nay, eyen at the N & w - C a r o l j n e -,
I slands, they call :the plaintive longs o f their women .tonguer
ifaifili - f and in New-Zeeland,, and .the Friendly-illands, the
■ fame would be exprefled by tangheefefeine, "which is not fo .very
different, as to difeourage our gueffing at the fimilarity o f both
•languages. T h e language of .Chkayana,, is .likewife, in my opinion,
nearly related to that o f .the Tagalas, on the ifland of Luçon, becaufe
•** Dalrymplc’s Collection, vol. i. p. 1£9»
. f Des BrofTes Hift. des Navigat. aux Terres Auffral. vol. 11. p. 486,
caufe, in this tongue, great fignifies d a 'q u i l a , or t a q u i l a , *
and this is the name by which the natives o f Chkayana di-
ftinguifhed the great car 'dia, or cockles from thofe which are fmaller
and more common.* - Th e language o f the Tagalas having an undoubted
relation to that o f the Malays,: as may be eafily colledted
from the comparifon o f the words o f both languages ; it can be no
wonder that Malayan words were found in the Taheitean language,
and its various dialects. • Thefe general obfervations on the language
are lb far curious and interefling, as theyafford a farther confirmation
o f the origin and migration o f thefe illanders.
But there are other obfervations, occurring on a more minute
confideration o f the language itfelf. T h e firjl is that at Taheitee,
and the Society-ifles, the natives have no fibilant in their language;
and therefore having no ufe of their organs of fpeech in forming,
thefe founds, they become at lafl u tterly incapable o f pronouncing
any fibilant found whatfoever. Their words, or even lyllables,
are never terminated by a confonant; for which reafbh the natives,
in imitating the names o f Europeans-, always added a vowel at the
end o f fuch names as'ended in a confonant; and this likewife has
made their language foft and agreeable on account o f the number
' F f f P M | of
- * P. Juan de Noceda y el P. Pedro de .San Lucar Vocabulario de, la Lingua Tagala.
Manila, 1754, fol.
f -Dalrymple’s Colledlion of Voyages, vof. i. p. 149.
MANNERS