Changes from Sanskrit to Polynesian

Te Ao Hou, June 1965, Page 47

Changes from Sanskrit to Polynesian (1) Whereas Sanskrit words often have several consonants together (i.e. ‘consonant clusters’), in Polynesian words each consonant sound is always followed by a vowel (of course the letters ng and wh represent single sounds). This means that every syllable ends in a vowel. (2) A great many sounds which occur in Sanskrit were dropped altogether from the Polynesian family of languages. Sanskrit has 35 consonants and four half-consonants (i.e. sounds involving both a consonant and a vowel). In Polynesian languages the number of consonants is very much smaller: for example, Maori has only 10 consonants, Samoan has nine and Hawaiian seven. (3) Many initial and final syllables of Sanskrit words are not present in the Polynesian words derived from them.

(4) Of a group of Sanskrit consonants, any one may be retained (i.e. sometimes in varied form) and any one lost. Sound Shifts from Sanskrit to Maori Sanskrit Maori P, PH, B, BH become P, W, WH, H K, KH, G, GH, C, CH become K, N, Ng, H D become T, R TH, DH become T, H J, JH, Y become H, I V become P, W, WH, H, U N become N, Ng, K, M L become R S, SH become H The sounds H, M, R and T remain as in Sanskrit. Several of these sound changes are identical with changes occurring when English words are adopted into the Maori language. Most Sanskrit vowels are quite unstable in the transition to Maori, though they often retain a similarity of sound. A Few Examples Here are a few examples of the derivation of Maori words from Sanskrit. Comparatively easy examples have been chosen here. Meaning Maori Sanskrit I, me ahau, au aháAm stone whatu vadháA outside waho bahis woman wahine bhaginīM water-monster taniwha danaváA to dig ko khan to look titiro didrikshate tree rakau ruksha to see kite cit to cover over uwhi, whi ubh throat korokoro gala to swallow horo gal to run away tawhiti dhavate the artisan of the gods, who made the thunderbolt for Indra. TváAshtri a goddess, the personification of thunder. Whatiri The Sanskrit words and their definitions given here and in the accompanying article are taken from ‘A Sanskrit-English Dictionary’ by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, published by the Oxford University Press (revised edition of 1951). A brief sketch of this kind is, of course, quite inadequate for a discussion of such a complicated issue. I hope to be able to publish a fuller treatment of the subject later, but am very conscious of the fact that one person can barely begin to survey such a field. The present article is put forward in the hope that other researchers may examine the matter further. Mrs Adele Schafer, who lives in Wellington, has for a long time been interested in Maori language and culture. She has not previously published a discussion of her theory as to the origin of the Maori language. Mrs Schafer has also written a play. ‘The Spiral Tattoo’, which is based on the Mataora myth and is to be broadcast by the N.Z.B.C.