Samoan language

Samoan
Gagana Sāmoa
Spoken in
Region	Spoken as first language on Samoan Islands, and as a second language in New Zealand, with substantial communities of speakers in Australia, U.S., Canada, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Denmark, England, Japan, China and Germany
Total speakers	369,957 total speakers according to Ethnologue (2009 edition, figures from 1999)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Polynesian Tongan-Samoan Samoan
Official status
Official language in	Samoa (199,000 speakers)  American Samoa (56,700 speakers)
Regulated by	No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1	sm
ISO 639-2	smo
ISO 639-3	smo
Linguasphere
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Sāmoan^[2] is the language of the Samoa Islands comprising the independent country of Samoa and the US territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Sāmoan is the first language for most of the Samoa Islands' population of about 246,000. With many Sāmoan people living in other countries, the total number of speakers wordwide is estimated at 370,000.

The alphabet proper consists of only fourteen letters:—5 vowels - a, e, i, o, u and 9 consonants - f, g, l, m, n, p, s, t, v.^[3] In addition, the language uses another letter, the phonetic glottal stop, ʔ (koma liliu or 'okina), used in many other Polynesian languages. The letters h, k, r are only used in foreign loan words, although k commonly replaces t in colloquial speech. Vowel length is phonemic, that is, it changes the meaning of otherwise identical words, eg manu 'bird', mānu 'float, afloat'. Long vowels are marked in writing by a macron (fa'amamafa) e.g. ā.

The language is distinguished by contrasts between literary Samoan, considered 'good speech', and spoken colloquial Samoan sometimes referred to as K speech or K register.^[4]

Sentences have different types of word order and the four most commonly used are Verb Subject Object (VSO), Verb Object Subject (VOS), Subject Verb Object (SVO) and Object Verb Subject (OVS).^[5] The language has a 'polite' and formal variant used in Samoan oratory and ceremony as well as in communication with elders, guests, people of rank and strangers.

Sāmoan is 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 ali'i, 'ava, atua, tapu and numerals as well as the name of gods in mythology.

Contents 1 Geographic distribution 2 History 2.1 Polynesian language 2.2 Written Samoan 2.3 First Samoan dictionary 1862 3 Phonology and alphabet 3.1 Vowels 3.2 Consonants 3.3 Pronunciation 3.3.1 Colloquial pronunciation 3.3.2 Foreign words 4 Syllables 5 Stress 6 Grammar 6.1 Personal pronouns 6.2 Articles 6.3 Nouns 6.4 Gender 6.5 Number 6.6 Genitive 6.6.1 O 6.6.2 A 6.6.3 Irregularities 6.7 Dative 6.8 Accusative 6.9 Vocative 6.10 Ablative 6.11 Adjectives 6.12 Sentence word order 7 Vocabulary 7.1 Numerals 7.2 Days of the week 7.3 Months 7.4 Points of the compass 7.5 Stars and heavenly bodies 7.6 Colours 7.7 Common phrases and words 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links 11.1 Coursebook 11.2 Online resources

Geographic distribution

There are approximately 370,000 Samoan speakers worldwide, 69% of whom live in the Samoan Islands.^[1] Thereafter, the greatest concentration is in New Zealand, where people of Samoan ethnicity comprise the third largest group after New Zealand European, Māori, and Chinese: the 2006 New Zealand census recorded 95,428 speakers of the Samoan language, and 141,103 people of Samoan ethnicity. Among ethnic Samoans in New Zealand, 70.5 percent of the Samoan speakers (87,109 people) could speak Samoan. Samoan is the 4th most commonly spoken language in New Zealand after English, Maori and Chinese. The majority of Samoans in New Zealand (66.4 per cent) reside in the commercial capital, Auckland. Of those who speak Samoan, 67.4 percent live in Auckland and 70.4 percent of people who are both of Samoan ethnicity and Samoan speakers live in that city.

According to the 2006 census, there were 38,525 speakers of Samoan in Australia, and 39,992 people of Samoan ancestry.

Samoan Language Week (Vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa) is an annual celebration of the language in New Zealand supported by the government^[6] and various organisations including UNESCO. Samoan Language Week was started in Australia for the first time in 2010.^[7]

History

The history of the Samoan people and their language is still unclear.^[8] An origin from southeastern Asia is the predominant theory in scientific research with linguistic markers evident between the closely related Polynesian languages and the greater family of Austronesian languages. The oldest date so far from pre-historic remains in Samoa archaeology has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 BP (Before Present) from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.^[9] Encounters with Europeans began in the 1700s followed by the era of colonialism in the Pacific. Samoan was a spoken language until the early to mid-1800s when Christian missionaries began documenting the spoken language for religious texts and introduced writing using the Latin script. In 1834, an orthography of the language was distributed by the London Missionary Society who also set up a printing press by 1839. The first complete Bible (Tusi Pa'ia, Sacred Book) in the Samoan language was completed and published in 1862.^[10] Prior to this writing system, oral transmission and memorizing of knowledge was a routine part of Samoan culture and system of learning, as it was in other parts of Polynesia and the ancient world. This includes storytelling, known as fagogo which also incorporated chants and song. Historically and culturally, an important form of the Samoan language is oratory, a ceremonial language sometimes referred to in publications as 'chiefly language',^[11] which incorporates classical Samoan terms and prose as well as a different set of vocabulary, which is tied to the roles of orator chiefs (tuafale) and 'speechmaking' (failauga) that remains part of the culture's continuing indigenous matai system of governance and social organization.

Polynesian language

Samoan is a member of the Polynesian languages where the vowels are consistently the same; a, e, i, o and u. Dialects have developed in various island groups by changes in consonant sounds. R and v are used in central and eastern Polynesia where l and v are used in western Polynesia (including Samoa). In some dialects certain consonants are not fully sounded but are represented or should be represented by an inverted comma over its place in the word. In the Society Islands, k and ng were dropped, so the name for the ancestral homeland, pronounced Havaiki in other dialects of central Polynesia, is here pronounced Havai‘i; for the Māori in New Zealand, where w is used instead of v, the ancient home is Hawaiki; in the Cook Islands, where h is dropped, it is ‘Avaiki; in the Hawaiian Islands, where w is used and k is dropped, the largest island of the group is named Hawai‘i; in Samoa, where s replaces h, v is preferred to w, and k is dropped, the largest island is called Savai'i.^[12]

Written Samoan

The first problem which faced the missionaries in Polynesia was that of learning the language of the island which they proposed 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, it was next necessary to teach the indigenous people how to write and read their own language. A printing press, with the alphabet keys used only in the English language, 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 to print them for use as texts in teaching. Thus, the missionaries introduced writing for the first time within Polynesia, they were the first printers, and they established the first schools in villages.^[13]

First Samoan dictionary 1862

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.^[14] 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 poetry and proverbs, and an extensive grammatical sketch.^[3] Pratt was a missionary for the London Missionary Society and lived in Matautu on the island of Savai'i.

Phonology and alphabet

The Samoan alphabet consists of 15 letters excluding three (H, K, R) that are used only in loanwords (with K also used in colloquial spoken Samoan).

Aa, Āā	Ee, Ēē	Ii, Īī	Oo, Ōō	Uu, Ūū	Ff	Gg	Ll	Mm	Nn	Pp	Ss	Tt	Vv	(Hh)	(Kk)	(Rr)	‘
/a/, /aː/	/ɛ/, /eː/	/iː/	/o/, /ɔː/	/ʊ/, /uː/	/f/	/ŋ/	/l, ɾ/	/m/	/n, ŋ/	/p/	/s/	/t, k/	/v/	(/h/)	(/k/)	(/ɾ/)	/ʔ/

Vowels

The 5 vowels also have a long form denoted by the macron which affects the meaning of words with the exact same spelling.^[5]

eg tama = child or boy; tamā = father.

The combination of u followed by a vowel in some words creates the sound of the English w, a letter not part of the Samoan alphabet.

eg uaua (artery, tendon) = wawa (pronunciation)

Consonants

The glottal stop, called koma liliu (inverted comma) in Samoan, is treated as a consonant. It is often represented by an apostrophe in modern publications. Similar to the macron, the presence or absence of the glottal stop affects the meaning of words with the same spelling.^[5]

eg mai = from, originate from; ma'i = sickness, illness

Pronunciation

Every vowel is pronounced distinctly, whether short or long, similar to the sounds of the vowels of Japanese or Spanish.

Short /a/ is pronounced [ə] in a few words, such as mate or maliu 'dead', vave 'be quick'.

Consonants are pronounced as in English, with the exception of g, which is pronounced like the ng in the English word sing rather than the g in go. The incorrect pronunciation of g results in Pago Pago sounding like Pay-go Pay-go rather than the correct form, Pah-ngo Pah-ngo.

The glottal stop is pronounced in the same way as the interruption between the vowels in the word "uh-oh".

Colloquial pronunciation

The consonant system of colloquial Samoan is slightly different from the literary language (spoken and written) and is referred to as K speech or K style.^[5] In colloquial speech, defined as taking place in casual social situations among intimates or in the home, /t/ is sometimes pronounced [k], and /n/ has merged with /ŋ/ as [ŋ]. /l/ is pronounced [ɾ] following a back vowel (/a, o, u/) and preceding an /i/. /s/ is less sibilant than in English. /h/ and /r/ are found only in borrowings, and /s/ and /l/ are sometimes substituted for them.

Therefore, in colloquial Samoan speech, common consonant replacements occur such as;^[4][5]

t is pronounced k e.g. tama (child, boy) is pronounced kama; tānoa ('ava bowl) is pronounced kāngoa; tagata (person, people) is pronounced kangaka

n is pronounced ng e.g. teine (girl) is pronounced keinge; ono (six) is pronounced ongo, similar to the replacements in the words above tānoa and tagata

Also, the letter r becomes l eg taro is pronounced kalo; Māori is pronounced Māoli

Foreign words

In foreign loanwords, the sound of letters remains similar:^[14]

k and r are retained, eg Keriso - Christ; kalapu - club

d becomes t eg Tavita - David

ph becomes f eg telefoni - telephone

g and hard c become k eg kesi - gas; kamupani - company

h is also retained at the beginning of some proper names, eg Herota - Herod;

z becomes s eg Zachariah - Sakaria

w becomes u eg Uiliamu or Viliamu - William; uaea - wire

b becomes p eg Patania - Bethany or pata - butter

Syllables

Every syllable ends in a vowel. No syllable consists of more than three letters, one consonant and two vowels, the two vowels making a diphthong; as fai, mai, tau. Roots are sometimes monosyllabic, but mostly disyllabic or a word consisting of two syllables. Polysyllabic words are nearly all derived or compound words; as nofogata from nofo and gata, difficult of access; taʻigaafi, from taʻi, to attend, and afi, fire, the hearth, making to attend to the fire.^[14]

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 manu for namu 'scent', lava‘au for vala‘au 'to call', but vowels may not be mixed up in this way.

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. There are exceptions though, with many words ending in a long vowel taking the accent on the ultima; as ma'elega, zealous; ʻona, to be intoxicated; faigata, difficult.

Verbs formed from nouns ending in a, and meaning to abound in, have properly two aʻs, as puaa (puaʻaa), pona, tagata, but are written with one.

In speaking of a place at some distance, the accent is placed on the last syllable; as ʻO loʻo i Safotu, he is at Safotu. The same thing is done in referring to a family; as sa Muliaga, the family of Muliaga. So most words ending in ga, not a sign of a noun, as tiga, puapuaga, pologa, faataga and aga. So also all words ending in a diphthong, as mamau, mafai, avai.^[14]

In speaking the voice is raised, and the emphasis falls on the last word in each sentence.

When a word receives an addition by means of an affixed particle, the accent is shifted forward; as alofa, love; alofága, loving, or showing love; alofagía, beloved. Reduplicated words have two accents; as pálapála, mud; ségiségi, 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 tofátumoánaíná, to be engulfed. The articles le and se are unaccented. When used to form a pronoun or participle, le and se are contractions for le e, se e, and so are accented; as ʻO le ana le mea, the owner, literally the (person) whose (is) the thing, instead of O le e ana le mea. The sign of the nominative ʻo, the prepositions o, a, i, e, and the euphonic particles i and te, are unaccented; as ʻO i maua, ma te o alu ia te oe, we two will go to you.

Ina, the sign of the imperative, is accented on the ultima; ína, the sign of the subjunctive, on the penultima. The preposition iá is accented on the ultima, the pronoun ia on the penultima.^[14]

Grammar

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.

	singular	dual	plural
First person exclusive	a‘u , ‘ou	mā‘ua, mā	mātou
First person inclusive	tā	tā‘ua, tā	tātou
Second person	‘oe, ‘e	‘oulua	‘outou, tou
Third person	ia / na	lā‘ua	lātou

In formal speech, fuller forms of the roots mā-, tā-, and lā- are ‘imā-, ‘itā-, and ‘ilā-.

Articles

The article le is both definite and indefinite; at least as it is constantly used in Samoan, whereas the English would require the indefinite article; definite e.g., ʻo le Atua, God; indefinife e.g., ʻo le aliʻi Pai, such as, one is a chief. On looking into such cases, it will be found that there is something definite, from a Samoan standpoint, which makes them use le rather than se, as Ua tu mai le vaʻa, a canoe appears.

Se is always indefinite; ta mai se laʻau, cut me a stick.^[14]

The article is omitted before plural nouns, thus, ʻO le tagata, the man; ʻO tagata, men.

Nouns

Names of natural objects, such as men, trees and animals, are mostly primitive nouns, e.g.ʻO le la, the sun; ʻo le tagata, the man; ʻo le talo, taro; ʻo le iʻa, the fish; also manufactured articles, such as matau, an axe, vaʻa, canoe, tao, spear, fale, house, etc.^[14]

Some nouns are derived from verbs by the addition of either ga, saga, taga, maga, or ʻaga: such as tuli, to drive; tuliga, a driving; luluʻu, to fill the hand; luʻutaga, a handful; anu, to spit; anusaga, spittle; tanu, to bury; tanumaga, the part buried. These verbal nouns have an active participial meaning; e.g. ʻO le faiga o le fale, the building of the house. Often they refer to the persons acting, in which case they govern the next noun in the genitive with a; ʻO le faiga a fale, contracted into ʻo le faiga fale, those who build the house, the builders. In some cases verbal nouns refer to either persons or things done by them: ʻO le faiga a talo, the getting of taro, or the party getting the taro, or the taro itself which has been got. The context in such cases decides the meaning. Sometimes place is indicated by the termination; such as tofa, to sleep; tofaga, a sleeping-place, a bed. ʻO le taʻelega is either the bathing-place or the party of bathers. The first would take o after it to govern the next noun, ʻO le taʻelega o le nuʻu, the bathing-place of the village; the latter would be followed by a, ʻO le taʻelega a teine, the bathing-place of the girls.

Sometimes such nouns have a passive meaning, such as being acted upon; ʻO le taomaga a lau, the thatch that has been pressed; ʻo le faupuʻega a maʻa, the heap of stones, that is, the stones which have been heaped up. Those nouns which take ʻaga are rare, except on Tutuila; gataʻaga, the end; ʻamataʻaga, the beginning; olaʻaga, lifetime; misaʻaga, quarrelling. Sometimes the addition of ga makes the signification intensive; such as ua and timu, rain; uaga and timuga, continued pouring (of rain).

The simple form of the verb is sometimes used as a noun: tatalo, to pray; ʻo le tatalo, a prayer; poto, to be wise; ʻo le poto, wisdom.

The reciprocal form of the verb is often used as a noun; e.g. ʻO le fealofani, ʻo femisaiga, quarrellings (from misa), feʻumaiga; E lelei le fealofani, mutual love is good.

A few diminutives are made by reduplication, e.g. paapaa, small crabs; pulepule, small shells; liilii, ripples.

Adjectives are made into abstract nouns by adding an article or pronoun; e.g. lelei, good; ʻo le lelei, goodness; silisili, excellent or best; ʻo lona lea silisili, that is his excellence or that is his best.

Many verbs may become participle-nouns by adding ga; as sau, come, sauga; e.g. ʻO lona luai sauga, his first coming; mau to mauga, ʻO le mauga muamua, the first dwelling.

Gender

Gender is sometimes expressed by distinct names:—

ʻO le aliʻi, a chief. ʻO le tamaloa, a man. ʻO le tama, a boy. ʻO le poʻa, a male animal.

ʻO le tamaitaʻi, a lady. ʻO le fafine, a woman. ʻO le teine, a girl. ʻO le manu fafine, a female animal.

When no distinct name exists, the gender of animals is known by adding poʻa and fafine respectively. The gender of some few plants is distinguished by tane and fafine, as in ʻo le esi tane; ʻo le esi fafine. No other names of objects have any mark of gender.^[14]

Number

The singular number is known by the article with the noun; e.g. ʻo le tama, a boy.

Properly there is no dual. It is expressed by omitting the article and adding numbers e lua for things e.g. e toalua, two, for persons; as ʻo fale e lua, two houses; ʻo le nuʻu e toalua, two persons.

The plural is known by:

1. the omission of the article; ʻo ʻulu, breadfruits.
2. particles denoting multitude, as ʻau, vao, mou, and moíu, and such plural is emphatic; ʻo le ʻau iʻa, a shoal of fishes; ʻo le vao tagata, a forest of men, i.e., a great company; ʻo le mou mea, a great number of things; ʻo le motu o tagata, a crowd of people. These particles cannot be used indiscriminately; motu could not be used with fish, nor ʻau with men.
3. lengthening, or more correctly doubling, a vowel in the word; tuafafine, instead of tuafafine, sisters of a brother. This method is rare.^[14]

Genitive

This is indicated by the prepositions a or o (soft). As to which of these should be used, as well as the pronouns lou, lau, lona, lana, lo and la matou, etc., it is difficult for a foreigner to know. There is no general rule which will apply to every case. The governing noun decides which should be used; thus ʻO le poto ʻo le tufuga (fai fale), the wisdom of the builder; ʻO le amio a le tama, the conduct of the boy; upu o Fagono, words of Fagono (a kind of narrative and song or storytelling); but upu a tagata, words of men.

O

O is used with:

1. Nouns denoting parts of the body; fofoga o le aliʻi, eyes of the chief. So of hands, legs, hair, etc.; except the beard, which takes a, lana ʻava; but a chief's is lona soesa. Different terms and words apply to chiefs and people of rank and status according to the 'polite' variant of the Samoan language, similar to the 'polite' variant in the Japanese language.
2. The mind and its affections; ʻo le toʻasa o le aliʻi, the wrath of the chief. So of the will, desire, love, fear, etc.; ʻO le manaʻo o le nuʻu, the desire of the land; ʻO le mataʻu o le tama, the fear of the boy.
3. Houses, and all their parts; canoes, land, country, trees, plantations; thus, pou o le fale, posts of the house; lona fanua, lona naʻu, etc.
4. People, relations, slaves; ʻo ona tagata, his people; ʻo le faletua o le aliʻi, the chief's wife. So also of a son, daughter, father, etc. Exceptions; Tane, husband; ava, wife (of a common man), and children, which take a; lana, ava, ma, ana, fanau.
5. Garments, etc., if for use; ona ʻofu. Except when spoken of as property, riches, things laid up in store.

A

A is used with:

1. Words denoting conduct, custom, etc.; amio, masani, tu.
2. Language, words, speeches; gagana, upu, fetalaiga, afioga; ʻO le upu a le tama.
3. Property of every kind. Except garments, etc., for use.
4. Those who serve, animals, men killed and carried off in war; lana tagata.
5. Food of every kind.
6. Weapons and implements, as clubs, knives, swords, bows, cups, tattooing instruments, etc. Except spears, axes, and ʻoso (the stick used for planting taro), which take o.
7. Work; as lana galuega. Except faiva, which takes o.

Some words take either a or o; as manatu, taofi, ʻO se tali a Matautu, an answer given by Matautu; ʻo se tali ʻo Matautu, an answer given to Matautu.

Irregularities

Irregularities in the use of the proposition:

1. Nouns denoting the vessel and its contents do not take the preposition between them: ʻo le ʻato talo, a basket of taro; ʻo le fale oloa, a house of property, shop, or store-house.
2. Nouns denoting the material of which a thing is made: ʻO le tupe auro, a coin of gold; ʻo le vaʻa ifi, a canoe of teak.
3. Nouns indicating members of the body are rather compounded with other nouns instead of being followed by a genitive: ʻO le mataivi, an eye of bone; ʻo le isu vaʻa, a nose of a canoe; ʻo le gutu sumu, a mouth of the sumu (type of fish); ʻo le loto alofa, a heart of love.
4. Many other nouns are compounded in the same way: ʻO le apaau tane, the male wing; ʻo le pito pou, the end of the post.
5. The country or town of a person omits the preposition: ʻO le tagata Samoa, a man or person of Samoa.
6. Nouns ending in a, lengthen (or double) that letter before other nouns in the possessive form: ʻO le sua susu; ʻo le maga ala, or maga a ala, a branch road.
7. The sign of the possessive is not used between a town and its proper name, but the nominative sign is repeated; thus putting the two in apposition: ʻO le ʻaʻai ʻo Matautu, the commons of Matautu.

Dative

Mo and ma governing this case, usually signify for; as au mai lea ma aʻu, give that for, or to, me. Ma also means, on account of, because; sau i fale ma le la, come in, because of the sun. The same rules govern the use of mo and ma, as o and a in the genitive: ʻO le sui mo outou, a substitute for you.

Accusative

The accusative or objective case follows the verb without any sign: Seu lou vaʻa, turn or steer your canoe.

This case is governed also by the preposition i in, into, to; ia, to persons; and with pronouns. It mostly follows active verbs: Seu lou vaʻa i le mea nei, steer your canoe to this place. It is also used in sentences which require the addition of the verb; to be, or to have, in translating them; ʻua ia te ia le mea, the property is to him; that is, he has it.

Vocative

This is indicated by e. Sometimes it retains the article; le aliʻi e; but, most commonly it is omitted.

Ablative

The ablative is governed by mai, nai, ai, from; i, into; e, from, mostly with persons.

Proper names are declined as the plural form of the common noun. That is to say, they omit the article; thus, ʻO Toga; ʻo le Toga, would mean a Tonga man. The accusative takes ia instead of i.

Adjectives

Some adjectives are primitive, as umi, long; poto, wise. Some formed from nouns by the addition of a, like y in English; as word, wordy; thus, ʻeleʻele, dirt; ʻeleʻelea, dirty; palapala, mud; palapala, muddy.

Others are formed by doubling the noun; as pona, a knot; ponapona, knotty; fatu, a stone; fatufatua, stony.

Others are formed by prefixing faʻa to the noun; as ʻo le tu fa'asamoa, Samoan custom or fa'amatai.

Like ly in English, the faʻa often expresses similitude; ʻo le amio faʻapuaʻa, behave like a pig (literally).

In one or two cases a is prefixed; as apulupulu, sticky, from pulu, resin; avanoa, open; from va and noa.

Verbs are also used as adjectives: ʻo le ala faigata, a difficult road; ʻo le vai tafe, a river, flowing water; ʻo le laʻau ola, a live tree; also the passive: ʻo le aliʻi mataʻutia.

Ma is the prefix of condition, sae, to tear; masae, torn; as, ʻO le iʻe masae, torn cloth; Goto, to sink; magoto, sunk; ʻo le vaʻa magoto, a sunken canoe.

A kind of compound adjective is formed by the union of a noun with an adjective; as ʻo le tagata lima malosi, a strong man, literally, the stronghanded man; ʻo le tagata loto vaivai, a weak-spirited man.

Nouns denoting the materials out of which things are made are used as adjectives: ʻo le mama auro, a gold ring; ʻo le fale maʻa, a stone house. Or they may be reckoned as nouns in the genitive.

Adjectives expressive of colours are mostly reduplicated words; as sinasina, white; uliuli, black; samasama, yellow; ʻenaʻena, brown; mumu, red, etc.; but when they follow a noun they are usually found in their simple form; as ʻo le ʻie sina, white cloth; ʻo le puaʻa uli, a black pig. The plural is sometimes distinguished by doubling the first syllable; as sina, white; plural, sisina; tele, great; pl. tetele. In compound words the first syllable of the root is doubled; as maualuga, high; pl. maualuluga. Occasionally the reciprocal form is used as a plural; as lele, flying; ʻo manu felelei, flying creatures, birds.

Comparison is generally effected by using two adjectives, both in the positive state; thus e lelei lenei, ʻa e leaga lena, this is good—but that is bad, not in itself, but in comparison with the other; e umi lenei, a e puupuu lena, this is long, that is short.

The superlative is formed by the addition of an adverb, such as matua, tasi, sili, silisiliʻese aʻiaʻi, naʻua; as ʻua lelei tasi, it alone is good—that is, nothing equals it. ʻUa matua silisili ona lelei, it is very exceedingly good; ʻua tele naʻua, it is very great. Silisili ese, highest, ese, differing from all others.

Naua has often the meaning of “too much”; ua tele naua, it is greater than is required.

Sentence word order

Different types of word order can be used in sentences ^[5] using Subject, Verb and Object.

For example:- The girl went to the house. (SVO); girl (subject), went (verb), house (object).

Samoan word order;

• (VSO)

Sa alu le teine i le fale.; sa alu (verb), teine (subject), fale (object).

went-girl-house.

• (VOS)

Sa alu i le fale le teine.

went-house-girl.

• (OVS)

Le fale sa alu i ai le teine.

house-went-girl.

• (SVO)

Le teine sa alu i le fale.

girl-went-house.

Vocabulary

Numerals

The cardinals are:

Numeral	Samoan	English
0	selo	zero
1	tasi	one
2	lua	two
3	tolu	three
4	fa	four
5	lima	five
6	ono	six
7	fitu	seven
8	valu	eight
9	iva	nine
10	sefulu	ten
11	sefulu ma le tasi	eleven
12	sefulu ma le lua	twelve
20	luafulu or lua sefulu	twenty
30	tolugafulu or tolu sefulu	thirty
40	fagafulu or fa sefulu	forty
50	limagafulu or lima sefulu	fifty
60	onogafulu or ono sefulu	sixty
70	fitugafulu or fitu sefulu	seventy
80	valugafulu or valu sefulu	eighty
90	ivagafulu or iva sefulu	ninety
100	selau	one hundred
200	lua lau or lua selau	two hundred
300	tolugalau or tolu selau	three hundred
1000	afe	one thousand
2000	lua afe	two thousand
10,000	mano or sefulu afe	ten thousand
100,000	Selau afe	one hundred thousand
1,000,000	miliona (loan word)	one million

The term mano was an utmost limit until the adoption of loan words like miliona, a transliteration of million. Otherwise, numbers beyond mano is manomano, ilu; that is, innumerable.^[14]

The prefix fa'a is also used to indicate the number of times.

For example; fa'atolu - three times. Or fa'afia? - how many times?

Days of the week

Samoan	English
aso	day
vaiaso	week
Aso Gafua	Monday
Aso Lua	Tuesday
Aso Lulu	Wednesday
Aso Tofi	Thursday
Aso Faraile	Friday
Aso To'ona'i	Saturday
Aso Sa	Sunday

Months

English	Modern loan names	19th Century Samoan[14]	Notes
a month	masina	mauli (also used)
January	Ianuari	Tagaloa-fua	Fua means 'fruit.' This was the season of great offerings to the supreme god Tagaloa
February	Fepuari	Fa'alele; Ta'afanua; Nua; Papu	Fa'alele, cause to fly; Ta'a, to run about on; Fanua tele, the big land
March	Mati	Tulia	A feast to the god Tulia.
April	Aperila	Le-Unu	A feast to Le-Unu
May	Me	Ta'afanua-tele	Ta'a, to run about on; Fanua tele, the big land.
June	Iuni	Malelega	Malelega, the flight of the tame pigeon.
July	Iulai	Sina	Sina means white, a likely reference to the moon (masina).
August	Aukuso	Vaenoa
September	Setema	Lau-popo	A feast to Lau-popo. Lau, leaf; popo, dry'; The end of the dry season.
October	Oketopa	Le Fanoga	Le fanoga, destruction.
November	Novema	Tagaloa-ta'u	A feast to Tagaloa-ta'u. Tau means 'renowned.'
December	Tesema	'Ite	A feast to 'Ite. Ite, to know;i'ite, to predict, hence 'a prophet.'

Points of the compass

Samoan	English
O itu o le Tapasa	Points of the compass
Taumatau	Right
Tauagavale	Left
Luga	Up
Lalo	Down
Sisifo	West
Matu	North
Toga, saute (modern term)	South
Sasa'e	East
gagaifo	westward
gaga'e	eastward
maogaga'e	to be towards the east
maosasa'e	to be far towards the east
maogagaifo	to be towards the west
maogatai	to be towards the sea
moanavale	far out to sea
i gatai	on the seaward side
i gauta, utafanua	inland
tafatafa'ilagi	horizon, (literally 'near the sky')
Tualagi	Heavens (literally 'the back of the sky')
Va	Space, to have space between
Vanimonimo	Heavens, (distant sky)

Stars and heavenly bodies

English	Samoan
Stars	O fetu
Sun	La
Sky	Lagi
Cloud	Ao (ao also means day, daytime)
Solar eclipse	Gasetoto
Lunar eclipse	Gase'ele'ele (gase - to wane, as the moon; 'ele'ele - land), Pogisa le Masina (darkening of the moon)
Lunar halo	Li'ofigota (dreamlike shellfish - referring to hazy aura like that stirred up in shallow water while fishing)
Moon	Masina, Mauli
Milky Way	'Aniva, Aolele (floating/flying cloud), Aotea (white cloud)
Comet	Pusaloa (long smoke - referring to smoke-like tail)
Shooting star	Fetulele (flying star), Taolagi (sky spear - referring to legendary hero who hurls fiery spears across the sky)
Morning star	Fetuao
Venus	Tapuitea (sacred lightness)
Constellation (general term)	Fuifuifetu (bundle of stars)
The Pleiades	Li'i, Mataali'i (literally eyes of chiefs or eyes of Li'i - also referring to chiefs who became stars upon death)
Mars	Matamemea (shiny eye)
Jupiter	Tupualegase (Tupua the Waning - a spirit deity)
Crux constellation	Sumu (triggerfish - apparent in the rhomboid shape of the Southern Cross)
Alpha and Beta Centauri	Luatagata (two people)
Castor	Felo (twins)
Pollux	Mea (an object, a thing)
Ursa Major constellation	'Anava (war club), Foe (paddle) - visualized as a giant's weapon or canoe paddle
Orion's Belt constellation	Amoga (carrying pole) - referring to a long pole borne across shoulders for carrying heavy loads
Delphinus triad constellation	Ti'otala (white collared kingfisher - an incarnation of a war god)
Tail of Delphinus constellation	Tulalupe (pigeon's perch)
Head of Delphinus constellation	Toloa (duck)
Sirius	Fetusolonu'u (star travelling all over the land)

Colours

Colours are;LinkPDF

Samoan	English
lanu	colour
lanu mumu	red
lanu moli	orange
lanu samasama	yellow
lanu meamata	green
lanu moana	blue
lanu viole	violet
lanu piniki	pink
lanu 'ena'ena	brown
lanu 'efu'efu	gray
lanu uliuli	black
lanu pa'epa'e	white

Common phrases and words

English	Samoan	Approximate IPA
Yes	‘ioe	[ʔi.jo.ɛ]
No	Leai	[lɛ.ɑ.i]
Please	Fa‘amolemole	[fɑ.ʔɑ.mo.lɛ.mo.lɛ]
Thank you	Fa‘afetai	[fɑ.ʔɑ.fɛ.taɪ]
That's all right	‘Ua lelei	[ʔu.wɑ lɛ.lɛɪ]
big - small	tele - la‘itiiti	[tɛ.lɛ] - [lɑ.ʔi.tiː.ti]
quick - slow	vave/tope - gese	[vɑ.vɛ] [to-bɛ] - [ŋɛ.sɛ]
early - late	vave - tuai	[vɑ.vɛ] - [tu.waɪ]
cheap - expensive	taugōfie - taugatā	[tɑ.u.ŋoː.fi.ɛ] - [tɑ.u.ŋɑ.tɑː]
near - far	latalata - mamao	[lɑ.tɑ.lɑ.tɑ] - [mɑ.mɑ.ɔ]
hot - cold	vevela - malulū	[vɛ.vɛ.lɑ] - [mɑ.lu.luː]
full - empty	tumu - gaogao	[tu.mu] - [ŋɑ.o.ŋɑ.o]
easy - difficult	faigōfie - faigatā	[fɑ.i.ŋoː.fi.ɛ] - [fɑ.i.ŋɑ.tɑː]
heavy - light	mamafa - māma	[mɑ.mɑ.fɑ] - [mɑː.mɑ]
open - shut	tatala - tapuni	[tɑ.tɑ.lɑ] - [tɑ.bu.ni]
right - wrong	sa‘o - sesē	[sɑ.ʔɔ] - [sɛ.seː]
old - new	tuai - fou	[tu.waɪ] - [fɔʊ]
old - young	matua - talavou	[mɑ.tu.wə] - [tɑ.lɑ.vo.u]
beautiful - ugly	'aulelei / 'auleaga	[ʔɑʊ.lɛ.leɪ] - [ʔɑʊ.lɛ.ɑ.ŋɑ]
good - bad	lelei - leaga	[lɛ.leɪ] - [lɛ.ɑ.ŋɑ]
better - worse	feololo - leaga tele	[fɛ.ɔ.loː.lo] - [lɛ.ɑ.ŋɑ.tɛ.lɛ]
One	Tasi	[tɑ.si]
Two	Lua	[lu.ɑ]
Three	Tolu	[to.lu]
Four	Fa	[fɑ]
Five	Lima	[li.mɑ]
Six	Ono	[ɔ.no]
Seven	Fitu	[fi.tʌ]
Eight	Valu	[vɑ.lʌ]
Nine	Iva	[i.vɑ]
Ten	Sefulu	[sɛ.fʌ.lʌ]

See also

• Samoan plant names, includes plants used in traditional Samoan medicine.
• Fa'amatai Samoa's chiefly matai system which includes ali'i and orator chief statuses.

Notes

References

• An Account of Samoan History up to 1918 by Teo Tuvale [2], NZ Licence CC-BY-SA 3.0, Retrieved 8 March 2010.
• Churchward, Spencer. 1951. A Samoan Grammar, 2nd ed. rev. and enl. Melbourne: Spectator Publishing Company.
• Milner, G.B. 1993, 1966. Samoan Dictionary. Polynesian Press. ISBN 0 908597 12 6
• Mosel, Ulrike and Even Hovdhaugen, 1992. Samoan reference grammar. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press/Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture.
• Mosel, La'i Ulrike and Ainslie So'o. Say it in Samoan. Pacific Linguistics D88. Canberra: ANU.
• Payne, Thomas E. 1997. Describing morphosyntax: a guide for field linguists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58224-5.

External links

Coursebook

• [3] Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook (2009), Galumalemana Afeleti L. Hunkin (Programme Director, Samoan Studies, Victoria University of Wellington), University of Hawai'i Press.

Online resources

• Samoan Grammar
• Online Samoan Dictionary
• Basic Samoan Vocabulary
• Samoan Language Audio Recordings

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