The Oceanic languages, their grammatical structure, vocabulary, and origin

1907·21.3 MB·English

by  Macdonald, Donald

-

THE
OCEANIC LANGUAGES
THEIR GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE,
VOCABULARY, AND ORIGIN
BY D. MACDONALD, D.D.
OF THE NEW HEBRIDES MISSION.
MEMBER 0V THE SOCIETE D'ETHNOGHAPHIE, PARIS.
HENRY FROWDE
LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW, NEW YORK
AND TORONTO
1907
OXFORD HORACE BART
:
PRINTEB TO THE UNIVERSITY
1968
I
to'JL 3 I
PREFACE
THIS work contains a Grammar and completeDictionary
of the language of Efate, New Hebrides, which is a typical
specimen of the Oceanic languages which are spoken by
fifty millions, or one-thirtieth, of the human race in
islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, extending over
two hundred degrees of longitude.
It contains also a Comparative Grammar, and, to a
sufficient extent, a Comparative Vocabulary of these
languages, together with the evidence of their Arabian
origin; thus adding these fifty millions to those previously
known as Semitic speakers, as, one hundred years ago, the
many millions (now 219,725,509) in India were, by similar
evidence, added to those previously known as Aryan
(European) speakers.
It is a unique unveiling of the linguistic, mental,
religious and moral life, social organization, and pre-
historic antecedents of the existing Oceanic ' savages', or
4 primitive' man.
To those engaged in the study of man, Anthropologists
and Ethnologists, more especially to students of Linguistic
science, Orientalists, and Semitic scholars, the work should
prove a welcome, and even, it may be said,an indispensable
aid. To all living and working among these fifty millions
PREFACE
iv
of people, missionaries. Government officials, and commer-
cial men, it should be of practical use as helping to that
thorough knowledge of the speech and character of the
natives which means the power of dealing sympathetically
and wisely with them to the advantage of all concerned.
This last consideration, the author specially commeii'
the various Governments that now have and
possessions,
so have taken up 'the white man's burden ' in Oceania-
France, Germany, Holland, United States of America, as
well as our own United Kingdom and her great self-
governing Dependencies in Australasia.
The work should be very valuable among other thing*
as a basis for further investigations all over the Oceanic
World.
MACDONALD
D.
LONDON,
Oct. 81, 1907.
CONTENTS
...
PAGES
INTRODUCTION vii-xv
.
CHAPTER
I
THE PROBLEM 1
CHAPTER
JI
PHONOLOGY 9
CHAPTER
III
TRILITERALISM AND INTERNAL VOWEL CHANGE 34
. .
CHAPTER IV
INFLEXIONAL OR WORD-FORMING ADDITIONS PREFIXES,
;
INFIXES, SUFFIXES 62
CHAPTER V
PRONOUNS AND PARTICLES 7-
CHAPTER VI
SUMMARY. ARABIA THE MOTHERLAND OF THE OCEANIC
LANGUAGES 90
THE OCEANIC LANGUAGES: THEIR MATERIAL, OR
VOCABULARY, SET FORTH IN A COMPLETE DIC-
TIONARY, COMPARATIVE AND ETYMOLOGICAL, OF ONE
OF THEM, THE LANGUAGE OF EpATE (NEW HEB-
97-316
RIDES) .
INDEX OF SEMITIC WORDS 317-352