On the Polynesian dialects / by George Bennett.

  • Bennett, George, 1804-1893.
Date:
[1831]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the Polynesian dialects / by George Bennett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Bv George Bennett, Esq., F.L.S., M.R.C.S., &c. \ - The Polynesian languages are, with but few exceptions, soft and harmo- nious, and figurative in their construction. Blair observes,* that “ all lan- guages are most figurative in the early state j” and that, in the beginnings of society, language is then most barren ; the stock of proper names which have been invented for things is small, and at the same time imagination exerts great influence over the conceptions of men, and their method of uttering them; so that, both from necessity and from choice, their speech will at that period abound in tropes. For the savage tribes of men are always much given to wondei and astonishment. Every new object surprises, terrifies, and makes a strong impression on their mind ; they are governed by imagination and pas- sion more than by reason, and of course their speech must be deejily tinctured by their genius. In fact we find that this is the character of the American and the Indian languages; bold, picturesque, and metaphorical; full of strong allusions to sensible qualities, and to such objects as struck them most in their wild and solitary life. An Indian chief makes an harangue to his tribe in a style full of stronger metaphors than an European would use in an epic poem.” The languages of New Zealand, the Society and the Sandwich Islands, are radically the same; they are well adapted for colloquial purposes, nor are they less calculated for the harangues occasionally made by the chiefs, which, com- bined with their metaphorical expressions, produce an impressive effect on their auditors. The following example will illustrate the style among the Tahitian chiefs. After a missionary sermon, in which the people had been exhorted to contribute as formerly towards the Missionary Society, Otoore (a chief of secondary rank, but an intelligent and eloquent man) stood up, and thus replied to some remarks which he considered bore hard upon the people : You are aware, my friends, that the vi treef has its winter and its summer- at one season we behold it clad in its leaves and fruits, inviting the stramrer to come under Its shade, and to refresh himself; at another time, its branches are despoiled of their verdure and their fruits, and appear as the barren rock • thus It IS with us; we have our season of plenty and our season of want • the season of plenty you have witnessed, and now you behold the season of want Do not, however, despair, for although winterj follows summer, summer also follows winter.” Another remark by the same chief was as follows: “ You knovv the cocomut tree vvhich grows on the sea-shore; it has fibrous roots which being united hold it firm; they are its supports; the waves dash against’ It from season to season, one wave receding to give place to another; yet the tree stands hrm: ,In,s let ,t be »itl, yon, missionaries; be united like l e fibrous roots of the coeo-nut tree, and one will strengthen the other; wh I t we beat at your roots, stand mnnoveable (as you were accustomed to do w e„ we your rebg.on); the storm will end in a calm, and the tree rem^ The language of the Fidgi Group is very soft, and is considered, amon- the Po ynesjan, as Itahan ,s among the European languages. We find the p i vatl tn the Rdgtan, thega and/ in the Tonga; the a ands/, in the R6tuma the act m the language of the New Hebrides Group. The Ton-atab,? ' / regard a knowledge of the Fidm-tn IntitTino-fv r i o^^tabu chiefs t, uie ria^um language as an accomplishment, and there is * I.ectures on Rhetoric. 8vo. pp. 177,173 l.lLf' ‘ <» T.hl.1, a„.l U.C vc„ row Hat „c a„,a, tha, t Literally, tau, - season.’