In an article published in Oceanic Linguistics in December 2012, Wilson identifies a number of distinctive changes in words that are shared uniquely by these atoll languages and East Polynesian languages. Some of these words are familiar to English speakers in Hawaiʻi today, for example, the change from earlier kiu (bird with a curved beak) to kiwi (Maori kiwi, Hawaiian ʻiʻiwi); the change from earlier watuke (type of sea urchin) to fatuke (Marquesan hatuke, Hawaiian hākuʻekuʻe and hāʻukeʻuke); and the change from earlier taʻe (feces) to tūtaʻe (Hawaiian kūkae).