Landtman says that with the exception of a few sounds (j, ch, and th as in nothing) the Kiwai Papuans have little difficulty in pronouncing English words.
Schuchardt gives a little more information about pronunciation, and instances esterrong = strong, esseppoon = spoon, essaucepen = saucepan, pellate = plate, coverra = cover, millit = milk, bock-kiss = box (in Churchill bokus, bokkis) as mutilations due to the native speech habits. He also gives the following letter from a native of the New Hebrides, communicated to him by R. H. Codrington; it shows many sound substitutions:
Misi Kamesi Arelu Jou no kamu ruki mi Mi no ruki iou Jou ruku Mai Poti i ko Mae tete Vakaromala mi raiki i tiripi Ausi parogi iou i rukauti Mai Poti mi nomoa kaikai mi angikele nau Poti mani Mae i kivi iou Jamu Vari koti iou kivi tamu te pako paraogi mi i penesi nomoa te Pako.
Oloraiti Ta, Mataso.
This means as much as:
Mr. Comins, (How) are you? You no come look me; me no look you; you look my boat he go Mae to-day. Vakaromala me like he sleep house belong you, he look out my boat, me no more kaikai, me hungry now, boat man Mae he give you yam very good, you give some tobacco belong (here = to) me, he finish, no more tobacco.
All right Ta, Mataso.
There are evidently many degrees of approximation to the true English sounds.
This letter also shows the characteristic tendency to add a vowel, generally a short i, to words ending in consonants. This is old, for I find in Defoe’s Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719, p. 211): “All those natives, as also those of Africa, when they learn English, they always add two E’s at the end of the words where we use one, and make the accent upon them, as makee, takee and the like.” (Note the un-phonetic expressions!) Landtman, besides this addition, as in belongey, also mentions a more enigmatic one of lo to words ending in vowels, as clylo for ‘cry’ (cf. below on Pidgin).