Northern Border |
Eastern Border |
South-Western Border |
Western Border |
Puyuma | Sumbanese | Mentaway | Hova |
sa | sa | ša, šara | isa |
rua | dua | rua | rua |
tero | tilu | tälu | telu |
spat | patu | äpat | efatra |
rima | lima | lima | dimi, dima |
unum | nomu | änäm | enina, enem |
pitu | pitu | pitu | fitu |
waro | walu | balu | walu |
iwa | siwa | šiba | siwi |
purru | kĕmbuluh | pulu | fulu |
Note I.—The sibilant in Mentaway ša, šara, šiba and Hova siwi somewhat resembles our “ sh ”.
Note II.—Hova dima and enem occur before suffixes or in composition.
Note III.—The resemblance of dua to the corresponding Indo-European numeral is merely fortuitous; dua also occurs in languages which have no Sanskrit loan-words at all.
184. The conservative character of the IN languages is further illustrated by the way in which onomatopoeic formations run unchanged through the several individual languages. Thus flatulence is imitated by the phonetic series t + u + t, and though p + u + t or p + u + p would be equally appropriate, the nucleus tut always recurs.
Flatulence, to break wind. Phihppines, Pamp.: atut — Celebes, Tontb.: ĕntut — Borneo, Day.: ketut — Java, Sund.: hitut — Sumatra, written Mkb.: kantut — Malay Peninsula, Mal.: kĕntut — Madagascar, Hova: etutra — Northern Border, Form.: matut — South-Western Border, Mentaway: ätut.
185. Finally we will illustrate the closeness of the relationship between the IN languages by reference to an entire section of their linguistic life, viz. the adjective, comparing for that purpose the Kamberese adjective on the Eastern Eorder and the Hova adjective on the Western Border.