Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0634

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Transcription

[Page 634]

530.
Some account of Princes Island

The Madagascar language has also som words similar to Malay words  as ouron the nose in Malay Erung   Lala the tongue Lida  Tang the hand Tangan  Taan the ground Tanna

From this similitude of language Between the inhabitants of the Eastern Indies & the Islands in the South Sea I should have venturd to conjecture much did not Madagascar interfere & how any Communication can ever have been carried between Madagascar & Java to make the Brown long haird people of the latter speak a language similar to that the Black wooly headed natives of the other is I confess far beyond my comprehension  unless in the Egyptian Learning running in two courses  one through Africa the other through Asia might introduce the same words & what is still more probable Numerical terms into the languages of people who never had any communication with each other  but this point requiring a depth of knowledge in Antiquities I must leave to Antiquarians to discuss.

 

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