Proto Polynesian Cognate Dictionary

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This is a dictionary for the reconstructed Proto Polynesian language. It compares cognate words in selected modern and ancient languages.

Proto Polynesian was the language that was spoken by all Polynesians 2 000 years ago in the same era as classical Latin. As the Polynesians spread out, their languages diverged, and eventually became the modern Polynesian languages that are spoken today. There are no documented records of Proto Polynesian, but it’s generally easy to deduce words they used, based on the consistency of modern reflexes.

This is not a comprehensive dictionary for the modern Polynesian languages. Several words that are used today do not come from Proto Polynesian, so they’re not included here. Additionally, the semantics of modern reflexes tend to shift over time, making this dictionary unsuitable for ascertaining the full meanings of modern words. If none of the Proto Polynesian definitions apply to a modern reflex anymore, I provide a concise reclarification in parentheses next to that language’s reflex.

By default, all languages’ entries are rendered phonemically in the international phonetic alphabet. If the “Generate orthography” function is activated, the computer will try to convert all entries into their respective orthographies. Since the protolanguages had no orthographies, I conceived orthographies for those, based on existing conventions and my own preferences. Note that the words will still be ordered by their phonemic transcriptions even when rendered orthographically.

In this dictionary, I’ve decided to use my own transcription system for each of the protolanguages, rather than following Blust’s conventions. My reasons for doing so can be found in this document. You can find Blust’s corresponding transcription for each protoword by clicking it in the etymology section of the dialoguebox it appears in.

Most of the data was collected by me on a language by language basis from publications such as the Bible and the following dictionaries.

A Simplified Dictionary of Modern Tongan by Edgar Tuʻinukuafe
Niue Language Dictionary by Te Ipukarea
Dictionary of Cook Islands Languages by Te Ipukarea
A Dictionary of the Tuvaluan Language and Culture by Hiroshi Tachibana and Izumi Hoshi
Diccionario Etimológico Rapanui-Español by the Comisión para la Estructuración de la Lengua Rapanui
Paekupu by He Kupenga Hao i te Reo
Te Aka by John C Moorfield
English-Tahitian Tahitian-English Dictionary by Sven Wahlroos
Hawaiian Dictionary by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H Elbert

Some of the data was also adapted from Pollex by Simon J Greenhill, Ross Clark, and Bruce Biggs, and from the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary by Robert Blust, Stephen Trussel, and Alexander D Smith.

If you find any errors or missing words, please email me at parallax.net.nz@protonmail.com.

If you appreciate my work here, please consider donating!

A spreadsheet version of this data is available.