Opuscula

On the Personal Pronouns and Numerals of the Mallicollo and Erromango Languages

By the Reverend C. Abraham

COMMUNICATED WITH REMARKS
TO THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY
by Dr. R. G. LATHAM.

April 22. 1853.

Mallicolo or Sesok?

Mallicolo.	English.
Inau,	I.
khai-im,	you.
na-ü,	he.
na-mühl,	}	we two.	{	exclus.
drivan				inclus.
kha-mühl,	you two.
na-taroi,	you three.
na-tavatz,	you four.
dra-tin,	we three.
dra-tovatz.	we four.
si-kat,	one.
e-ua,	two.
e-roi,	three.
e-vatz,	four.
e-rima,	five.
su-kai,	six.
whi-u,	seven.
o-roi,	eight.
whi-vatz,	nine.
singeap,	ten.
urare,	child.
aramomau,	father.
nebök,	a man.
bauenunk,	a male.
rambaiük,	a female.
marīu,	the sun, also their name for God.
tepe,	worship.
nakambu,	fire.
ewoi,	yes.
emwe,	not.
nelumbai,	}	know.
tatanini,
dratiban,	go.
utoi,	language.
ampreusi,	see.
tipen agene,	shoot arrows.
to perito na bara,	throw stones.
no kani wangas isank,	I eat good food.

Erromango

Erromango.	English.
I au,	I.
kik,	you.
iyi,	he.
enn-iau,	my.
ennun-kik,	thy.
enn-ii,	his.
ennun-kos,	our.
ennun-kimi,	your.
enn-irara,	their.
sai-imou,	this.
sai-nempe,	that.
aramai,	good.
tagraubuki,	bad.
saitavan,	one.
du-ru,	two.
tesal,	three.
menda-vat,	four.
suku-ring,	five.
sikai,	six.
suku-rimnaro,	seven.
suku-rimtesal,	eight.
suku-rimendarat,	nine.
kosengu,	we.
kimingu,	ye.
irara,	they.
ngaraodlem,	ten.
nobu,	God.
natamas,	spirit.
etemen,	father.
tan niteni,	son.
tinema,	mother.
etemetallari,	man.
tiamesu,	thing.
ei,	yes.
taui,	no.
navang,	eat.
hamonuki,	drink.
akasè,	see.
nimint,	eyes.
lebetanlop,	finger.
warakelang,	nose.
telangunt,	ear.
lampunt,	hair.
kikome,	name.

Remarks

Since these vocabularies were laid before the Society, a “Journal of a Cruise among the Islands of the Western Pacific,” by Capt. J. E. Erskine, R, N., has been published. This shows the sources of the preceding lists; since the bishop of New Zealand accompanied the expedition, and succeeded in taking back with him, on his return; some youths for the purposes of education.

The class to which these vocabularies belong has never been, sufficiently for the purposes of publication, reduced to writing, nor is any member of it known to scholars in general, in respect to its grammatical structure. This, however, will probably not be the case much longer, since Capt. Erskine has placed the materials for the study of the Aneitum (Annatom) language in the hands of Mr. Norriss, who is prepared for its investigation. Neither has the class been wholly neglected. A grammar of the Tanna (an allied language) was drawn up by Mr. Heath, but it has not been published, and is probably lost. Dr. Pritchard, who had seen extracts from it, writes, that it contained a trinal as well as a singular, a dual, and a plural number. The present list elucidates this. The trinal number (so-called) of the Mallicolo is merely the personal pronoun plus the numeral 3; each element being so modified as to give the appearance of an inflection.

The following tables exhibit the numerals of certain other islands in the neighbourhood. They are taken from Captain Erskine’s work, in which reference is made to a “Description of the Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean, by A. Cheyne.” This has not been examined by the present writer.

Eng.	Tana.	Fotuna29.	Isle of Pines.	Uea.	Uea.	Yengen.	Balad.	Lifu.
one	li-ti	ta-si	ta	tahi	pacha	hets	par-ai	chas.
two	ka-ru	rua	vo	lua	lo	he-luk	par-roo	lu-ete.
three	ka-har	lo:u	ve-ti	lolu	kuu	he-yen	par gen	kun-ete.
four	ke-fa	fa	beu	fa	thack	po-bits	par-bai	ek-ete.
five	ka-rirum	rima	ta-hue	lima	thabumb	nim	pa-nim	tibi.
six	liti (?)	ono	no-ta	tahi	lo-acha	nim-wet	par-ai	chb-lemen.
seven	ka-ru (?)	fitu	no-bo	lua	lo-alo	nim-weluk	par-roo	luen-gemen.
eight	ka-han (?)	varu	no-beti	tolu	lo-kunn	nim-weyen	par-gen	kun-engemen.
nine	ke-fa (?)	iva	no-beu	fa	lo-thack	nim-pobit	par-bai	ske-ngemen.
ten	ka-rirum?	tanga-fieru	de-kau	lima te-bennete	pain-duk	pa-nim	lue-ipe.

Mr. Abraham’s Mallicolo represents the same language with the Mallicolo vocabulary of Captain Cook’s Voyages, with which it pretty closely agrees.

His Erromango is more peculiar. Sikai = six = the Mallicolo sukai, which is, itself, nearly the sikai = one. The -ring in suku-ring, too, is the Mallicolo rima. This we know, from the analogies of almost all the languages of Polynesia and the Indian Archipelago, to be the word lima = hand. Hence e-rima (Mallicolo), hand, and suku-ring (Erromango) = one hand. The vat in menda-vat is the Mallicolo -bats in e-bats, the Malay am-pat = four. Du-ru is the Mallicolo e-ry, there being in each case a prefixed syllable. The analysis of tesal and saitavan is less clear. Neither is it certain how ngaraodlen = ten. The other numerals are compounds. This, perhaps, is sufficient to show that the difference between the numerals of the Mallicolo and Erromango is a difference of a very superficial kind. So it is with the Tana, Fotuna, and the first Uea specimens. We must always remember that the first syllable is generally a non-radical prefix.

In the Tana of the preceding table, the words for 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, seem to be merely the words for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 repeated, and something of the same kind appears in the first Uea. Perhaps the representation may be imperfect. At any rate the Tanna of Cook’s Voyage runs—

Eng.	Tanna.
one	r-eedee.
two	ka-roo.
three	ka-har.
four	kai-phar.
five	k-reerum.
six	ma-r-eedee.
seven	ma-ka-roo.
eight	ma-ka-har.
nine	ma-kai-phar.
ten	ma-k-reerum.

The same appears in the Balad of New Caledonia. Now Cooks New Caledonian runs—

Eng.	New Caledonian.
one	wa-geeaing.
two	wa-roo.
three	wa-teen.
four	wa-mbaeek.
five	wa-nnim.
six	wa-nnim-geeek.
seven	wa-nnim-noo.
eight	wa-nnim-gain.
nine	wa-nnim-baeek.
ten	wa-nnim-aiuk.

The Yengen and Lifu vocabularies are not so different but that the lu and kun of the one = the luk and yen of the other, as well as the lo and kiuu of the second Uea, and the roo and gen of the Balad.

The importance of these non-radical syllables in the numerals has been indicated by the present writer in the appendix to Mr. M’Gillivray’s ‘Voyage of the Rattlesnake.’ There we find several well-selected specimens of the languages of the Louisiade archipelago. The fact of certain affinities between these and the New Caledonian is there indicated. Each has its prefix. In each the prefix is a labial.

English.	Two.
Louisiade	paihe-tuan.
New Caledonia	wa-teen &c.

Now the Tana and Mallicolo tongues have a prefix also, but this is not a labial. It is rather a vowel or k (guttural or palatal). Here lies a difference—a difference of detail. Yet the same change can now be shown to be within the pale of the New Caledonian itself, as may be seen by comparing par-roo and par-gen (pah-gen?) with he-luk and he-yen.

The change from r to l creates no difficulty. In one of the Tana vocabularies one = li-ti, in another r-eedee.

These points have been gone into for the sake of guarding against such exaggeration of the differences between the languages of the parts in question as the apparent differences in the numerals have a tendency to engender.