Samoan language

Samoan is an analytic, isolating language and a member of the Austronesian family, and more specifically the Samoic branch of the Polynesian subphylum. It is closely related to other Polynesian languages with many shared cognate words such as aliʻi, ʻava, atua, tapu and numerals as well as in the name of gods in mythology. Linguists differ somewhat on the way they classify Samoan in relation to the other Polynesian languages. The "traditional" classification, based on shared innovations in grammar and vocabulary, places Samoan with Tokelauan, the Polynesian outlier languages and the languages of Eastern Polynesia, which include Rapanui, Māori, Tahitian and Hawaiian. Nuclear Polynesian and Tongic (the languages of Tonga and Niue) are the major subdivisions of Polynesian under this analysis. A revision by Marck reinterpreted the relationships among Samoan and the outlier languages. In 2008 an analysis, of basic vocabulary only, from the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database is contradictory in that while in part it suggests that Tongan and Samoan form a subgroup, the old subgroups Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian are still included in the classification search of the database itself. ==Geographic distribution==

There are approximately 470,000 Samoan speakers worldwide, 50 percent of whom live in the Samoan Islands. Thereafter, the greatest concentration is in New Zealand, where there were 101,937 Samoan speakers at the 2018 census, or 2.2% of the country's population. Samoan is the third-most spoken language in New Zealand after English and Māori. According to the 2021 census in Australia conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Samoan language is spoken in the homes of 49,021 people. US Census 2010 shows more than 180,000 Samoans reside in the United States, which is triple the number of people living in American Samoa, while slightly less than the estimated population of the island nation of Samoa – 193,000, as of July 2011. Samoan Language Week (Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa) is an annual celebration of the language in New Zealand supported by the government and various organisations including UNESCO. Samoan Language Week was started in Australia for the first time in 2010. ==Phonology==

The Samoan alphabet consists of 14 letters, with three more letters (H, K, R) used in loan words. The '''' ( or ʻokina'') is used for the glottal stop. Vowels Vowel length is phonemic in Samoan; all five vowels also have a long form denoted by the macron. The is often replaced by an apostrophe in modern publications. Use of the apostrophe and macron diacritics in Samoan words was readopted by the Ministry of Education in 2012 after having been abandoned in the 1960s. is pronounced as a flap following a back vowel () and preceding an ; otherwise it is . is less sibilant (hissing) than in English. are found in loan words. The consonants in parentheses are only present in words borrowed from English and colloquial Samoan. Foreign words Loanwords from English and other languages have been adapted to Samoan phonology: • /k/ is retained in some instances (Christ = , club = , coffee = ), and has become in rare instances (such as , from the English stocking). • /ɹ/ becomes [ɾ] in some instances (e.g. Christ = , January = , number = ), and [l] in others (January = , herring = ). • /d/ becomes [t] (David = , diamond = ). • /ɡ/ becomes [k] in some cases (gas = ), while /tʃ/, /ʃ/ and /dʒ/ usually become [s] (Charles = , Charlotte = , James = ). • /h/ is retained at the beginning of some proper names (Herod = ), but in some cases becomes an 's' (hammer = ), and is omitted in others (herring = , half-caste = ) • /z/ becomes [s] (Zachariah = ) • /w/ becomes [v] (William = ) • /b/ becomes [p] (Britain = , butter = ) Stress Stress generally falls on the penultimate mora; that is, on the last syllable if that contains a long vowel or diphthong or on the second-last syllable otherwise. Verbs formed from nouns ending in a, and meaning to abound in, have properly two aʻs, as (), , , but are written with one. In speaking of a place at some distance, the accent is placed on the last syllable; as , he is at Safotu. The same thing is done in referring to a family; as Sa Muliaga, the family of Muliaga, the term referring to a wide extended family of clan with a common ancestor. So most words ending in , not a sign of a noun, as , , , and . So also all words ending in a diphthong, as , , . In speaking the voice is raised, and the emphasis falls on the last word in each sentence. When a word combines with an affix, stress is shifted forward. For example: ('love'), ('loving' or 'showing love'), ('beloved'). Reduplicated words have two accents. For example: , 'mud'; and , 'twilight'. Compound words may have even three or four, according to the number of words and affixes of which the compound word is composed; as , 'to be engulfed'. The articles and are unaccented. When used to form a pronoun or participle, and are contractions for , , and so are accented; as , 'the owner' (literally 'the one whose is the thing'), instead of . The sign of the nominative , the prepositions , and the euphonic particles and , are unaccented; as in ('we two will go to you'). , the sign of the imperative, is accented on the ultima; , the sign of the subjunctive, on the penultima. The preposition is accented on the ultima, the pronoun on the penultima. Phonotactics Samoan syllable structure is (C)V, where V may be long or a diphthong. A sequence VV may occur only in derived forms and compound words; within roots, only the initial syllable may be of the form V. Metathesis of consonants is frequent, such as for 'scent', for 'to call', but vowels may not be mixed up in this way. Every syllable ends in a vowel. No syllable consists of more than three sounds, one consonant and two vowels, the two vowels making a diphthong; as , , . Roots are sometimes monosyllabic, but mostly disyllabic or a word consisting of two syllables. Polysyllabic words are nearly all derived or compound words; as from 'sit, seat' and , 'difficult of access'; , from , 'to attend', and , 'fire; hearth; making to attend to the fire'; , '(history) stories placed in order', , 'communal house for receiving guests'. ==Grammar==

Morphology Personal pronouns Like many Austronesian languages, Samoan has separate words for inclusive and exclusive we, and distinguishes singular, dual, and plural. The root for the inclusive pronoun may occur in the singular, in which case it indicates emotional involvement on the part of the speaker. In formal speech, fuller forms of the roots , , and are , , and . Articles Articles in Samoan do not show the definiteness of the noun phrase as do those of English but rather specificity. should not be confused for , the specific singular article, which indicates that the noun phrase refers to one particular entity. and negate declarative and interrogative sentences, but do not negate imperative sentences. Negative imperative verbs are discussed later in this entry. (meaning 'not') can be combined with all tense-aspect-mood particles (or 'TAM' particles), except those that are optative and subjunctive, such as , , and . A negative particle may mark a negative verbal clause, as seen in the example below. {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(1) In this example of a negated declarative sentence, it can be seen that, in Samoan, there is no equivalent gloss for 'unhappy'. The negative particle modifies the verbal clause to form something like "not happy" instead. The meaning of differs slightly from that of . indicates that an event or state has not been actualised yet, or for the time being, but is expected to become so. Therefore, is often translated as 'not yet' rather than simply 'not'. is usually only combined with the general TAM particle or . See the example below. {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(2) The above example (2) demonstrates the common usage of to mean 'not yet'. In some cases, simply means 'no, not at all', expressing the concept that an event that had been expected to happen or had been thought to have happened, did not occur after all. There is a particle, , that acts as a causative, as well being as the most common prefix in the Samoan language. This particle can be attached to nearly all nouns and non-ergative verbs. When attached to negated verb phrases, means having the qualities of or being similar to whatever is denoted by the basic stem or phrase. It is often combined with the negative particle (or its allomorphs) to form the construction . Prefixing onto a verb provides a polite way to say a negative phrase. Mosel & Hovdhaugen state that these particles provide three ways to express negative evaluations that vary on a scale of politeness, as demonstrated below: Position of negation in sentences In Samoan, particles modifying sentences usually take the first place in the sentence, with the exception of the question particle . The particles forming a category are not always mutually exclusive: for instance, while two negative particles cannot be combined, certain prepositions can occur together. Additionally, negative prenuclear particles will follow the preverbal pronoun or the TAM particle. In the following examples from Mosel & Hovdhaugen, the negative particles follow the TAM particle (Example 1: ) or the preverbal pronoun (Example 2: ). {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(1) {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(2) In both examples, the negative particle is in the second position, after the preverbal pronoun and/or the TAM particle. In Example 2, there is both a preverbal pronoun () AND a TAM particle following it (). This demonstrates that the negative particle must always follow these two types of preceding particles in the sentence, even if they are both present. Verbs exempt from negation There are two existential verbs in Samoan: , 'to exist, be present' and the negative equivalent [leái] or [le:ái], 'to not exist, be absent'. They differ from all other Samoan verbs in at least one respect: they cannot be negated by a negative particle. Mosel & Hovdhaugen (1992, pp. 114) suggest that this originates in the etymology of these verbs: the negative existential verb is probably derived from ('not') and (ANAPH, 'not there'). It seems that the inclusion of negation in the verb itself disallows the negative particle from the sentence structure. See the example from Mosel & Hovdhaugen (1992, pp. 56) in the sentence below: {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(1) In this example, the existential verb has been used to indicate the absence of something (that is, the cars) rather than using a negative particle. However, a negative particle () has been used in the second clause, modifying the verbal clause to create the phrase "the roads did NOT reach there", with the emphasis on the absence of the roads in that area. According to Mosel & Hovdhaugen (1992, pp. 480–481) the only TAM particles that appear with are and . This means that acts as if non-existence is a general fact, rather than linking it to a specific point in time. When another verb follows within the same verb phrase, it functions as a more emphatic negation meaning something like "not at all". This is demonstrated in the following example: {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(2) Here, the addition of to the verb "to move" makes the statement more emphatic: not only did Sina not move, she did not move at all. Negative imperative verbs There are two negative imperative verbs, and . should not be confused with , which means 'because'. These negative imperative verbs can be used independently of negative particles; as the negation is in the verb itself, an extra particle is not required. means 'don’t do, should not do' and is employed to express commands in both direct and indirect speech. What should not be done is indicated by a verbal complement clause, as seen in the example below. {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(1) As discussed above, this sentence does not require a negative particle, because the negative imperative verb is sufficient. Alternatively, means that 'one should stop doing something one has already started'. As with , what should not be done is indicated by a verbal complement. In direct speech, is either used in the imperative without any TAM particle or in the optative marked by . An example of this can be seen in the example below, where the preposition precedes the negative particle . {{interlinear|lang=sm|number=(1) This complex sentence has several examples of negation where the negative particle lē is combined with the preposition in order to negate an existential clause ("there will be no..."). ==Registers==

Formal versus colloquial register The language has a polite or formal variant used in oratory and ceremony as well as in communication with elders, guests, people of rank and strangers. The consonant system of colloquial Samoan ( 'casual Samoan') as it is known) is slightly different from the literary language ( 'proper Samoan'), and is referred to as K speech or K style. which incorporates classical Samoan terms and prose as well as a different set of vocabulary, which is tied to the roles of orator chiefs () and 'speechmaking' () that remains part of the culture's continuing indigenous system of governance and social organization. The ('polite speech') register is used by lower-ranking people to address people of higher status, such as their family chief, government officials, or clergy. It is also the formal register used among chiefs during ceremonial occasions and social rites such as funerals, weddings, chiefly title bestowals and village council meetings. It is not common for entire conversations to be held in chiefly register, and the "dignified language" is used mainly in making formal introductions between individuals, opening and concluding formal meetings, and executing ceremonial tasks (such as the ʻava ceremony). It is also considered proper to use the "polite" language when praying. Untitled people (those without chief titles) who are unfamiliar with each other will often greet each other in chiefly register as a common courtesy, while familiar individuals frequently use chiefly addresses in jest (as in humorously addressing friends with – 'respectful greetings your highness' – instead of the more colloquial – 'hey man!'). Examples of "polite" word variants according to social rank: Another polite form of speech in "polite" Samoan includes terms and phrases of self-abasement that are used by the speaker in order to show respect and flatter the listener. For example when praising the child of another woman, a mother might politely refer to her own children as (); in order to emphasize the beauty of a fine tapa cloth, the presenter might refer to it as a simple ('plain cloth'); the weaver of an especially fine mat might call it ('coconut leaf') or ('sail cloth') in order to not appear boastful. Overshadowing the dignity or prestige of higher-ranking individuals is a grave offense in Samoan culture, so words are chosen very carefully to express individual feelings in a way that acknowledges relative statuses within social hierarchy. ==Alphabet==

Encounters with Europeans began in the 1700s, followed by the era of colonialism in the Pacific. Samoan was only a spoken language until the early to mid-1800s when Christian missionaries began documenting the spoken language for religious texts and introducing the Latin script for writing. In 1834, an orthography of the language was distributed by the London Missionary Society, which also set up a printing press by 1839. The first complete Bible (Tusi Paʻia, 'Sacred Book') in Samoan was completed and published in 1862. The first problem that faced the missionaries in Polynesia was that of learning the language of the island, which they intended to convert to Christianity. The second was that of identifying the sounds in the local languages with the symbols employed in their own languages to establish alphabets for recording the spelling of native words. Having established more-or-less satisfactory alphabets and spelling, teaching the indigenous people how to write and read their own language was next necessary. A printing press, with the alphabet keys used only English, was part of the mission equipment, and it was possible not only to translate and write out portions of the Bible scriptures, and hymns in the local language but also to print them for use as texts in teaching. Thus, the missionaries introduced writing for the first time within Polynesia, were the first printers and established the first schools in villages. The alphabet proper consists of only 15 letters: 5 vowels, , and 10 consonants, . In addition, a macron () written over a vowel indicates the five long vowels, '''''', as in 'animal', 'float, afloat'. The ʻokina ' (, a reversed apostrophe) indicates the glottal stop, as in many other Polynesian languages. For typographic convenience, the ʻokina is often replaced by a simple apostrophe, . The additional letters , , ' are used in foreign loanwords, apart from the single interjection 'gotcha!'; although the sound is found in native words in colloquial speech, it is spelled '. The letter ' represents a velar nasal, as in the English word sing, rather than a voiced velar stop, as in the English go. Thus, the correct pronunciation of Pago Pago is . The first grammar and dictionary of the Samoan language, A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, with English and Samoan Vocabulary, was written by Reverend George Pratt in 1862. Pratt's valuable Samoan dictionary records many old words of special interest, specialist terminology, archaic words and names in Samoan tradition. It contains sections on Samoan proverbs and poetry, and an extensive grammatical sketch.{{cite encyclopedia Pratt was a missionary for the London Missionary Society and lived for 40 years in Matautu on the island of Savaiʻi. ==Vocabulary==

Numbers The cardinal numerals are: The term was an utmost limit until the adoption of loan words like ('million') and ('billion'). Otherwise, quantities beyond were referred to as or ; that is, 'innumerable'. Language preservation Though it is not the primary language of a number of nations outside of Samoa, there is an effort by the descendants of Samoans to learn the native language of their ancestors and to better understand their origins and history. Much like any language, a shift is occurring in the way words are spoken and pronounced, especially as Samoans further integrate with other languages. Most looking to learn Samoan are forced to turn to written materials instead of living examples. To preserve the language, linguists must use diacritical marks. Without them, the actual pronunciations of words quickly become altered and lost. The marks are commonly found before, under and above letters in words and are especially helpful for students and non-native speakers to realize the difference the vowels and glottal stops can make in the pronunciation of words. Examples include: Below is another example of a sentence with and without diacritical marks from the Samoan Bible (O le tusi paia, o le Feagaiga Tuai ma le Feagaiga fou lea) [1]: [Original] Faauta, ua e le foai mai ia te au ... [With diacritics] Faʻauta ʻua ʻe lē fōaʻi mai iā te aʻu ... Samoan diacritical marks may seem confusing at first due to the way the language shifts based on context. Also, the mixed use of diacritical marks in literature and even within the same publication can surprise non-native speakers. This is evident in the Bible translation created by early missionaries and Reverend George Pratt which features markings in some words and not others. Part of it was due to the need to save time on the writing and typesetting and to use the markings as a guideline. == Sample text ==

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Samoan:O tagata soifua uma ua saoloto lo latou fananau mai, ma e tutusa o latou tulaga aloaia faapea a latou aia tatau. Ua faaeeina atu i a latou le mafaufau lelei ma le loto fuatiaifo ma e tatau ona faatino le agaga faauso i le va o le tasi i le isi.Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. ==See also==