As we have a more extended grammar than the above of the Tongan (or Tonguese), with which the Maori may be considered to be intimately connected, both being dialects of the same Polynesian language that extends from the Samoa group, or Navigator Islands, over the Society, Marquesas, and Sandwich groups, a few comparisons with it will not be inappropriate, seeing that there are some constructive and glossarial differences.

The alphabet consists of seventeen letters, five of which are vowels and twelve of which are consonants, viz., a, e, i, o, u, and b, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, s, t, v respectively. Duplication of words takes place, as in Malay and Maori, under very similar conditions, thus: toji, to peck, when doubled (tojitoji) means to peck repeatedly; noko, the hip, when doubled (nokonoko) means a large hip. Of this class of words there are many examples. In other cases no new idea is suggested in connection with the primitive term, as in the above examples; but its meaning is made emphatic or becomes intensified. Thus the word niji, vain or vanity, when doubled means the same thing in a strong or superlative sense. There are, however, exceptions to the above rule which need not be entered into here.

There are two classes of articles: (1st) those which precede common nouns—koe, ae, he, and the indefinite article ha; (2nd) those which are only used before proper nouns, viz., ko and a.

The masculine and feminine genders are formed by the words tangata (male) and fafine (female) following the noun, of which there are parallel examples in Malay and Maori.

The plural signs are gaahi, kau, tunga, faga, otu, and fuifui. The uses of these are various. Our space will allow of only one or two examples by way of comparison.