Tokelauan language

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Tokelauan is an Austronesian language.

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[edit] Speakers

It is spoken by about 1,700 people on the atolls of Tokelau, and by the few inhabitants of Swains Island in neighbouring American Samoa. It is a member of the Samoic family of Polynesian languages. It is, alongside English, the official language of Tokelau. In addition to the population of Tokelau, it is spoken by approximately 2,900 Tokelauan expatriates in New Zealand.

[edit] Affinities with other languages

Tokelauan is intelligible with Tuvaluan, the main language of the neighbouring island realm of Tuvalu. It also has marked similarities to the Niuafo'ou language of Tonga.

Loimata Iupati, Tokelau's resident Director of Education, is translating the Bible from English into Tokelauan.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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