■were fo different from ours, that it was difficult to fix them
to the objeft of inquiry. Or, if this could be obtained, to
learn an unknown tongue, from an inftruitor who did not
know a fingle word of any language that his fcholar was
converfant with, could not promife to produce much. But
even, when thefe difficulties were furmounted, there ftill remained
a fruitful fource of miftake. I mean, inaccuracy in
catching, exadtly, the true found of a word, to which our
ears had never been accuftomed, from perfons whofe mode
of pronunciation was, in general, fo indiftinft, that it feldom
happened that any two of us, in writing down the fame
word, from the fame mouth, made ufe of the fame vowels,
in reprefenting it. Nay, we even, very commonly, differed
about confonants, the founds of which are leaft liable to ambiguity.
Befides all this, we found, by experience, that we
had been led into ilrange corruptions of fome of the moil:
common words, either from the natives endeavouring to
imitate us, or from our having mifunderftood them. Thus,
cheeto was univerfally ufed by us, to exprefs a thief, though
totally different from the real word, in the language of
Tongataboo. The miftake arofe from a prior one, into
which we had run, when at New Zealand. For though the
word that fignifies thief there, be abfolutely the fame that
belongs to the dialeit of the Friendly Iflands (being kaeehaa
at both places), yet, by fome blunder, we had ufed the word
teete, firft at New Zealand, and, afterward, at Tongataboo,
on our arrival there. The natives, endeavouring to imitate
us, as nearly as they could, and fo ‘fabricating the word
cheeto, this, by a complication of miftakes, was adopted by
us as their own. All poffible care has been taken to make
rhe following table as correct as poffible :
Engliih.
Engliih. Friendly Iflands,
The fun, Elaa,
Fire, . Eafoi,
Thunder,' Fatoore,
Rain, Ooha,
The wind, Matangee,
Warm, Mafanna,
The clouds, Ao,
Land, Fonooa,
Water, Avy,
Sleep, Mohe,
A man, Tanga ta,
A woman, Vefaine,
A young girl, Taheine,
A fervant, or perfon of\¡Tooa,
mean rank, '
The dawn, or day-break, Aho,
The hair, Fooroo,
The tongue, Eielo,
The ear, Tareenga,
The beard, Koomoo,
The flea, Tahee,
A'boat, or canoe, Wakka,
Black, Oole, -
Red, Goola,
A lance, or fpear, Tao,
A parent, Motooa,
What is that.? ■Kohaeea ?.
To hold faß, Amou,
T 3 wipe, or clean any \ f Horo,
thing,
V o l . I. 3 H
Otaheite.
Eraa.
Eahoi.
Pateere.
Eooa.
Mataee.
Mahanna.
Eao.
Fenooa.
Evy.
Moe.
Taata.
Waheine.
Toonea.
Toutou, or teou.
Aou.
Eroroo.
Erefo.
Tareea. '
Ooma.
Taee.
Eva a.
Ere.
-Oora, oora.
Tao,
Madooa.
Yahaeea !
Mou.
Horoee.
Engliih.