Vocabulary
The following is a table of some sample vocabulary as it is represented orthographically in various languages. All instances of <ʻ> represent a glottal stop, IPA /ʔ/. All instances of
| Polynesian vocabulary | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proto-Polynesian | Tongan | Niuean | Sāmoan | Rapa Nui | Tahitian | Māori | Rarotongan | S. Marquesan | Hawaiian | English |
| *taŋata | tangata | tangata | tagata | tangata | ta'ata | tangata | tangata | ʻenata | kanaka | man |
| *sina | hina | hina | sina | hina | hinahina | hina | ʻina | hina | grey-haired | |
| *kanahe | kanahe | kanahe | ʻanae | 'anae | kanae | kanae | ʻanae | mullet | ||
| *tiale | siale | tiale | tiale | tiare | tiare | tīare | tiare | kiele | flower | |
| *waka | vaka | vaka | vaʻa | vaka | va'a | waka | vaka | vaka | waʻa | canoe |
| *fafine | fafine | fifine | fafine | vi'e/vahine | vahine | wahine | vaʻine | vehine | wahine | woman |
| *matuqa | motuʻa | motua | matua | matuʻa | metua | matua | metua, matua | motua | makua | parent |
| *rua | ua | ua | lua | rua | rua | rua | rua | ʻua | lua | two |
| *tolu | tolu | tolu | tolu | toru | toru | toru | toru | toʻu | kolu | three |
Read more about this topic: Proto-Polynesian Language
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain.”
—Marina Warner (b. 1946)
“My vocabulary dwells deep in my mind and needs paper to wriggle out into the physical zone. Spontaneous eloquence seems to me a miracle. I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“A new talker will often call her caregiver “mommy,” which makes parents worry that the child is confused about who is who. She isn’t. This is a case of limited vocabulary rather than mixed-up identities. When a child has only one word for the female person who takes care of her, calling both of them “mommy” is understandable.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)