The following tables exhibit the numerals of certain other islands in the neighbourhood. They are taken from Captain Erskine's work, in which reference is made to a "Description of the Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean, by A. Cheyne." This has not been examined by the present writer.
| Eng. | Tana. | Fotuna[29]. | Isle of Pines. | Uea. | Uea. | Yengen. | Balad. | Lifu. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | li-ti | ta-si | ta | tahi | pacha | hets | par-ai | chas. |
| two | ka-ru | rua | vo | lua | lo | he-luk | par-roo | lu-ete. |
| three | ka-har | lo:u | ve-ti | lolu | kuu | he-yen | par gen | kun-ete. |
| four | ke-fa | fa | beu | fa | thack | po-bits | par-bai | ek-ete. |
| five | ka-rirum | rima | ta-hue | lima | thabumb | nim | pa-nim | tibi. |
| six | liti (?) | ono | no-ta | tahi | lo-acha | nim-wet | par-ai | chb-lemen. |
| seven | ka-ru (?) | fitu | no-bo | lua | lo-alo | nim-weluk | par-roo | luen-gemen. |
| eight | ka-han (?) | varu | no-beti | tolu | lo-kunn | nim-weyen | par-gen | kun-engemen. |
| nine | ke-fa (?) | iva | no-beu | fa | lo-thack | nim-pobit | par-bai | ske-ngemen. |
| ten | ka-rirum? | tanga-fieru | de-kau | lima te-bennete | pain-duk | pa-nim | lue-ipe. |
Mr. Abraham's Mallicolo represents the same language with the Mallicolo vocabulary of Captain Cook's Voyages, with which it pretty closely agrees.
His Erromango is more peculiar. Sikai = six = the Mallicolo sukai, which is, itself, nearly the sikai = one. The -ring in suku-ring, too, is the Mallicolo rima. This we know, from the analogies of almost all the languages of Polynesia and the Indian Archipelago, to be the word lima = hand. Hence e-rima (Mallicolo), hand, and suku-ring (Erromango) = one hand. The vat in menda-vat is the Mallicolo -bats in e-bats, the Malay am-pat = four. Du-ru is the Mallicolo e-ry, there being in each case a prefixed syllable. The analysis of tesal and saitavan is less clear. Neither is it certain how ngaraodlen = ten. The other numerals are compounds. This, perhaps, is sufficient to show that the difference between the numerals of the Mallicolo and Erromango is a difference of a very superficial kind. So it is with the Tana, Fotuna, and the first Uea specimens. We must always remember that the first syllable is generally a non-radical prefix.
In the Tana of the preceding table, the words for 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, seem to be merely the words for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 repeated, and something of the same kind appears in the first Uea. Perhaps the representation may be imperfect. At any rate the Tanna of Cook's Voyage runs—
| Eng. | Tanna. |
|---|---|
| one | r-eedee. |
| two | ka-roo. |
| three | ka-har. |
| four | kai-phar. |
| five | k-reerum. |
| six | ma-r-eedee. |
| seven | ma-ka-roo. |
| eight | ma-ka-har. |
| nine | ma-kai-phar. |
| ten | ma-k-reerum. |
The same appears in the Balad of New Caledonia. Now Cooks New Caledonian runs—
| Eng. | New Caledonian. |
|---|---|
| one | wa-geeaing. |
| two | wa-roo. |
| three | wa-teen. |
| four | wa-mbaeek. |
| five | wa-nnim. |
| six | wa-nnim-geeek. |
| seven | wa-nnim-noo. |
| eight | wa-nnim-gain. |
| nine | wa-nnim-baeek. |
| ten | wa-nnim-aiuk. |
The Yengen and Lifu vocabularies are not so different but that the lu and kun of the one = the luk and yen of the other, as well as the lo and kiuu of the second Uea, and the roo and gen of the Balad.