It must be confessed that this is a very obscure question and that it is only by exploring well the country, by joining together many data and comparing them with Geognosy that Ethnography will be able to form a well founded judgement respecting the origin of the people of Oceania."
The above remarks are taken from the Introductory Chapter of the work in the first volume, the remainder of which is taken up with statistical and other notices. In the 2nd Vol. is given a chapter on the dialects spoken in the Philippines, which the author says "are all only corruptions or varieties of one language which forms part of the great family known generally by the name of Malay." He says that it has but one declension of nouns and has neither cases, numbers, nor genders, in which statement all other writers on the Malay languages agree; thus they say, one good man, two good man, &c. The verbs also have no distinctive terminations, as they say, I eat, thou eat, he eat, &c. and they use in conversation only the Infinitive, present, preterite, past, future, and imperative. They seem to have in use some words derived from the Arabic, Persian, and Hindoo, and also from the Chilian, for which Martinez Zuniaga is quoted for an authority, adding that the Padre Fausto Lopez is forming a comparative table of all or most of the dialects of the islands.
Finally in corroboration of his statements and conclusions, the Author gives a Vocabulary of many words in the dialects of the Ilocos, Iagulo, Bisaya, Cagayan and Malay of Singapore, which certainly seem to warrant his opinions. I regret I did not make a copy of more of the Vocabulary than of the Numerals, of which the following is a summary with the addition of the Chinese (Jukien) —
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Iloco. Jagulo. Bisaya. Cagayan. Malay. Chinese.
1
Meysa
Isa
Usa
Jadday
Satu
Child
2
Dua
Dalaua
D»ha
Dua
Dua
No
3
Tallò
Tallò
Tolò
Talù
Tigga
Sa
4
Eppat
Apat
Upat
Appa
Ampat
Si
5
[1]Limà
Limà
Limà
Líma
Líma
Go
6
Juuem
Anim
Uniem
Annam
Auam
La
7
Pitò
Pitò
Pitò
Pitu
Jugin
Chit
8
Oalò
Ualò
Ualò
Ualu
Dlapan
Pe
9
Siam
Siàm
Siàm
Siam
Sambilan
Ka
10
Sangapulo
Sampu
Napulo
Mafulu
Sapùlo
Chaf
20
Duapulo
Daluaupu
Calohaan
Duafulu
Duapulo
Gichap
100
Sangagasut
Isamdaan
Usacaiatos
Magattu
Saratus
Chuppa
1000
Sangaribo
Isanlibo
Usa ca libo
Marifu
Saribu
Ching
- ↑ The word Lima is peculiarly importance as in many Negro languages it also means the hand; thus showing how it became the word
