Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/113

 POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES. 95 ence of the great Polynesian language on the vernacular tongues, over that of the Sanskrit, is. proved by the existence of the first, and the ab- sence of the second in the more secluded and in- sulated languages, such as those of the savages just mentioned, and those of the South Sea islands, in which a few insulated and corrupted words of the great Polynesian exist ; but not a syllable of Sanskrit, as far as I know, has been discovered. In investigating a subject of so much obscurity, even such a discovery as this assumes some im- portancet The prodigious multiplicity of languages within the Indian islands has been already described, and the decrease of their numbers in the progress of civilization has been pointed out. We have seen nations of a few families with a language se- parate and distinct from those of its neighbours, while populous communities have no greater num- ber. It is instructive and interesting to advert to the history of the joint improvement of society and language, and to attend to the circumstances un- der which a community is increased, in strength, number, and civilization, while the numerous dia- lects of the first savages unite to the formation of one more copious and improved tongue. Such a history would be pretty nearly as follows : — One tribe raised above its neighbours by circumstance^ natural or fortuitous, would conquer one or mor^