Note 24 — Chapter I · THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION

It must be remembered that these terms are not properly terms of relationship at all. Any man who is older than the speaker is Maia or Mai-ola to him, the latter implying a slightly higher degree of respect than the former. It is probable that the three different terms given above are not used by the natives with the very precise distinctions that are drawn by Mr Man. It may be noted that Mr Portman writes in this connection:—“Maia is an Honorific, equivalent to the English ‘Sir,’ and is used when addressing a male elder. A son calls his father ‘Sir,’ and uses no other word in speaking to, or of, him. A pronoun emphasises the relationship, as: Dia maiola My Father 24.”