NavList:

Frank,

Thank you for correcting me.  In my initial post, I blew past the distinction between Polynesia and Micronesia, of which the Marshall Islands are part.  I immediately went to David Lewis's We, the Navigators for a refresher.  For those who are interested, I have attached a copy of his Map 2, which delineates the Pacific island groups.  

Throughout his book, Lews carefully distinguishes between Polynesia and Micronesia.  In chapter 1, he cites differences in language (as you do), culture, and boat design. He also discusses the low likelihood of extensive contact between the island groups.  Despite these differences, at the end of chapter 2, he states:  "Two important conclusions emerged from field and documentary research.  First, there was the totally unexpected finding that nearly every important navigational technique and concept encountered in Micronesia was matched by its Polynesian counterpart.  Differences seemed to depend much more on local insular geographical features than on major cultural-linguistic divisions.  On the admittedly incomplete evidence available, it would hardly seem justifiable to speak of separate Polynesian and Micronesian navigational 'systems,' though there may well have been some such distinction in the heyday of voyaging.  What I think the facts at our disposal do strongly suggest is that the methods used in the two areas were productive of equivalent results -- the precision of landfall they achieved was virtually the same. ..."  Lewis, We, the Navigators (2d ed.), pp. 47-48.  

– Chris