Niuafo'ou language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niuafo'ou
Spoken in: Tonga
Total speakers: 690 (SIL 1981)
Language family: Austronesian
 Malayo-Polynesian
  Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
   Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
    Oceanic
     Central-Eastern Oceanic
      Remote Oceanic
       Central Pacific
        East Fijian-Polynesian
         Polynesian
          Nuclear Polynesian
           Samoic Outlier
            East Uvean-Niuafo'ou
             Niuafo'ou
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: NUM
ISO 639-3: num

Niuafoʻouan is the language spoken on Tonga's northernmost island Niuafoʻou. Although, because it is part of Tonga, currently all inhabitants speak Tongan as well, Niuafoʻouan has been classified by linguists as a Nuclear Polynesian language with clear affinities to ʻUvean and Tokelauan.

The languages on the neighbouring islands of Niuatoputapu and Tafahi are closer to Tongan, of which they can be considered dialects.

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Languages