On this day ...
20 September 1770
Endeavour Voyage Maps
James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia
Transcript of Cook's Journal
Joseph Banks's Journal
Sydney Parkinson's Journal
Description of the Island of Savu
Index
Search
Contact us
The inhabitants of each of these little islands speak a language peculiar to themselves, and it is an object of Dutch policy to prevent, as much as possible, their learning the language of each other. If they spoke a common language, they would learn, by a mutual intercourse with each other, to plant such things as would be of more value to themselves than their present produce, though of less advantage to the Dutch; but their languages being different, they can communicate no such knowlege to each other, and the Dutch secure to themselves the benefit of supplying their several necessities upon their own terms, which it is reasonable to suppose are not very moderate. It is probably with a view to this advantage that the Dutch never teach their own language to the natives of these islands, and have been at the expence of translating the Testament and catechisms into the different languages of each; for in proportion as Dutch had become the language of their religion, it would have become the common language of them all.
To this account of Savu, I shall only add a small specimen of its language, by which it will appear to have some affinity with that of the South Sea islands, many of the words being exactly the same, and the numbers manifestly derived from the same source.
| A man, | Momonne. | The ears, | Wodeeloo. |
| A woman, | Mobunnee. | The tongue, | Vaio. |
| The head, | Catoo. | The neck, | Lacoco. |
| The hair, | Row catoo. | The breasts, | Soosoo. |
| The eyes, | Matta. | The nipples, | Caboo soosoo. |
| The eye-lashes, | Rowna matta. | The belly, | Dulloo. |
| The nose, | Swanga, | The navel, | Assoo. |
| The cheeks, | Cavaranga. | The thighs, | Tooga |
| The knees, | Rootoo. | The sun, | Lodo. |
| The legs, | Baibo. | The moon, | Wurroo. |
| The feet, | Dunceala. | The sea, | Aidassee. |
| The toes, | Kissovei yilla. | Water, | Ailea. |
| The arms, | Camacoo. | Fire, | Aee. |
| The hand, | Wulaba. | To die, | Maate. |
| A buffalo, | Cabaou. | To sleep, | Tabudge. |
| A horse, | Djara. | To rise, | Tateetoo. |
| A hog, | Vavee. | One, | Usse. |
| A sheep, | Doomba. | Two, | Lhua. |
| A goat, | Kesavoo. | Three, | Tullu. |
| A dog, | Guaca. | Four, | Uppah. |
| A cat, | Maio. | Five, | Lumme. |
| A fowl, | Mannu. | Six, | Unna. |
| The tail, | Carow. | Seven, | Pedu. |
| The beak, | Pangoutoo. | Eight, | Arru. |
| A fish, | Ica. | Nine, | Saou. |
| A turtle, | Unjoo. | Ten, | Singooroo. |
| A cocoa-nut, | Nieu. | Eleven, | Singurung usse. |
| Fan-palm, | Boaccree. | 20, | Lhuangooroo. |
| Areca, | Calella. | 100, | Sing assu. |
| Betele, | Canana. | 1000, | Setuppah. |
| Lime, | Aou. | 10,000, | Selacussa. |
| A fish-hook, | Maänadoo. | 100,000, | Serata. |
| Tattow, the marks on the skin, | Tata. | I,000,000 | Sereboo. |
 |
Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 702 - 703, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/702.html