Download or read book A Dictionary of the Language of Mota, Sugarloaf Island, Banks' Islands (Classic Reprint) written by Robert Henry Codrington and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Dictionary of the Language of Mota, Sugarloaf Island, Banks' Islands The language of Mota is spoken as their native tongue by some eight hundred people, and has never probably been spoken in a past generation by more than a thousand. It derives its only importance from its having become, by circum stances rather than by choice, the language used as a common medium of communication in the Melanesian Mission. Being used in translations, in the oral teaching given to natives of many widely distant islands, and in the inter-communication of those so taught which has now continued for thirty years, it has become, next to the language of Fiji, the most generally known of the Melanesian tongues. It has certainly merits of its own it is phonologically free from the difficulties which beset some of the languages of the same and of neighbouring groups; and it is full, precise and exible enough for use in teaching and in translations. A Mota Dictionary may be taken as exhibiting a specimen of the group of languages to which it belongs; and should be followed by Dictionaries or ample Vocabularies of the languages of the principal islands in which the Melanesian Mission is at work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."