In many words a t has been dropped: angi to cry, Oceanic tangi; asi sea, Oceanic tasi; ola canoe, Florida tiola, Sa'a 'iola.
There is no w in Lau. Where it occurs in Sa'a its place is supplied in Lau by q, the sound of which is kw or ku: qalu eight, Sa'a walu. In Lau the island Ulawa is known as Ulaqa. A q in Lau may represent an h in Sa'a: qai, the reciprocal prefix, is in Sa'a hai. The letter gw may represent a q (pw) in Sa'a: gwou head, Sa'a qau; gwini wet, Sa'a qini; gwou deserted, Mota wou. The sound of d is not followed by r, as is the case in Sa'a, nor is d before i sounded any way differently, as is the case in Sa'a. Nasal m, i.e., mw, is not so common a sound as it is in Sa'a, but it is heard in mwane male, mwela child.
There is an interchange between n and l: nima or lima five; daluma middle, Sa'a danume; inala to discern, Sa'a ilala. Both l and r are used and the sounds are distinct; both sounds are trilled.
ARTICLES.
(a) Demonstrative: Singular, na, si; ta, te, ke; maae; fe. Plural, gi; mwai, ote.
(b) Personal: a, ni.
Na denotes a, any, the, and is put to more general use than the corresponding nga in Sa'a; na is used with both singular and plural: na noni the body; na sasigamu your brethren. The conjunction ma (=and) coalesces with na; mana Mwela and the Son. Na is used with the interrogative taa what.
2. Si is more definite and particular in meaning than na and denotes a part, a piece, any; it is more or less equivalent to me'i in Sa'a: si doo ne the thing; gamelu ka ania si taa what are we to eat? si ere a firestick; si doo gu saea na that which I said; na may be prefixed: na si baea taa ne what words? si can not be used of the plural.
3. Ta means a certain one, every, at all, just, only, and is the same as the numeral ta one: ta may precede the article fe; ta fe uo every hill, ni may follow ta: tani aiai some, other. ta may mean only: ta ro ai only two people; ta may be used with the numerals, ta ro mwane two men; ta ro tangale penny 200 pence.
Te has practically the same meanings as ta: te geni sarii a maiden; te taifilia he alone; te aiai falaete one person only. Te is used of units (as ata in Sa'a), te fiu fe doo only seven things; te ai ma te ai one by one; too te ai singly. Si may follow both ta and te: ta si fou a certain rock, te si na doo everything; te may be used as equivalent to the conjunction and: te na Mwela and the Son.