Preparation
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
Tongan Dictionary In
From Our Own Correspondent
Nukualofa, Nov. 4.
THE Rev. C. Churchward, Australian Methodist minister and noted authority on Island languages, and former missionary to Fiji and Rotuma, has been in Tonga for several months now. He has been engaged by the Tonga Government to compile a grammar and dictionary of the Tongan language.
There is need for a good grammar and dictionary of this branch of the Poly nesian language. The grammar and vocabulary compiled by the notorious Rev. Shirley Waldemar Baker and based on the works of earlier missionaries to Tonga, has been regarded as the stand ard work on the subject and has served to fill the gap, but there have been many faults and defects.
In order to gain a thorough knowledge of the language in as short a time as possible, the Rev. Churchward spends much of his time living alone amongst the natives of outlying districts.