Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary

THE GROUPING OF WORDS

THE GROUPING OF WORDS

Most of the Polynesian Vocabularies follow the rule of putting all the words commencing with a vowel or continuing with vowels before those having leading consonants. Thus the Hawaiian Dictionary is arranged in following order: A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, &c.; Umu precedes Hau, Heu precedes Hehe, &c., &c. This custom has not been followed in the present volume, where the words, intended for English readers, are arranged in the order of the English alphabet. The exceptions are ng and wh; these are considered as single letters; words commencing with ng follow the completed series of n, and words in wh follow the completed series of w.

There are strong reasons in favor of printing all words commencing with the causative whaka under wh; the main point in favour of this course being ease of reference, especially to those persons not at all acquainted with the language. In a Comparative Dictionary, however, it is necessary to group the words together for convenience of reference. Thus whaka-oti, to finish, must be looked for under Oti; pupuhi and puhipuhi under Puhi; papai, paingia, whaka-pai, and whaka-paipai under Pai. A very little practice in consulting the Dictionary will make the reader accustomed to this order of composition.