Note 60 — XX.

The original spelling of the name of this island arose from ignorance of the language. To the question, "Eaha tera fenúa?" (What is the name of this island?) the natives replied, "O Taïti Oia." The article was thus taken for the first syllable and the island was called O Taheite. Since then the thorough knowledge we have acquired of the language has rectified the mistake. In Tahitian the two verbs "to be" and "to have" are altogether wanting. O is simply the nominative of an article which very frequently is placed before a proper name to give it emphasis, or even for the sake of euphony. O accordingly is used in the above sentence merely to imply "it is." A literal translation from Tahitian into any European language is in most cases impossible. Occasionally one finds Tahiti mentioned by the names of La Sagittaria, King George the Third's Island, Nouvelle Cythère, and Amat.