The V Sound.

In some words the written V is sounded distinctly as W. Such are the words vaka and vahine, which are pronounced as waka and wahine. In other words the V is distinctly sounded as V. Mr. Savage holds that the W sound was originally used in all cases, and that the change to V occurred through the influence of religious teachers from Tahiti. As Archdeacon Williams is of the opinion that V was the original sound in the Polynesian language, I have not ventured to make any alteration in these pages.