Page:An introduction to Indonesian linguistics, being four essays.djvu/258

 246 example. This reads: ’o le tala i fuṅafuṅa, and Finck (p. 86. 1. 12 from the bottom) translates it: "O! (or "indeed") the tale in the sea-cucumber". In reality 'o (in my spelling qo. § 39), which is derived from an older form ko, is a preposition accompanying the nominative (see Kern FI, p. 30, 1. I); and i is a preposition with an extensive (i.e., vague and general) sphere of mneaning which in several IN-Pol. languages happens also to serve for the genitive relation. So Finck has rendered a preposition by an interjection, and has arbitrarily and wrongly translated a preposition of vague and general import by a locative one. — Now if as against this sort of faulty comparison of IN and IE another method of comparison is propounded, which avoids the mistakes of the former and may therefore be termed the objective method, it would follow that the former method could no longer maintain itself. And if our objective method had no other aim or purpose than to cut away the ground from under the feet of that unscientific, unjust mental attitude, which is so offensive to our common sentiment of humanity as well, would not that be a sufficient justification for its existence?

38. In this monograph the following abbreviations (besides such as are obvious) have been used :

IN = Indonesian.

IE = Indo-European.

WB = Word-base.

Brugmann KvG = K. Brugmann, "Kurze vergleichende Grammatik der indogermanischen Sprachen."

Meillet GvP = A. Meillet, "Grammaire du vieux Perse."

Kern FI = Kern, "De Fidjitaal."

Bijdr. = Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië.

Schwarz- Texts = Tontemboan texts, edited by J. Alb. T. Schwarz.