Language Report: Tongan

Introduction to Tongan.

Tongan is a member of the Austronesian language family, having close to 100,000 speakers. Mainly spoken in Tonga, being its national language, Tongan is also spoken in American Samoa, Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, Niua, USA and Vanuatu.^[1]

As a descendent of the Austronesian language family, in the subgroup of Tongic languages, Tongan is very closely related to Niuean. Looking at the slightly bigger picture, Tongic languages have branched from the parent of Polynesian languages.

The most discussed language feature of Tongan is known as “definitive accent.” This is where a different accent can signal a different grammatical definition of a word or phrase.

As an example: ^[2]

The Tongan written language was originally developed by missionaries in the 19^th century.^[1] Today it consists of 17 letters. The “toloi” which indicates a long vowel counts as a letter. Also each syllable may have no more than one consonant.

Tongan is the primary national language in Tonga, and many Tonga inhabitants also speak fluent English. It is interesting to know that English is taught as a second language to all Tongan people.^[3]

Another interesting linguistic fact about Tongan is the use of a special dialect when addressing someone of royal status.^[4]

Work Cited:

Lynch, John. Pacific Languages: an Introduction. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998.

Kreidler, Charles W. Phonology: Critical Concepts. Published by Taylor & Francis, 2001. ISBN 0415237890, 9780415237895

[1] http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tongan.htm

[2] http://globalrecordings.net/language/4293

[3] http://www.happytellus.com/tonga

[4] http://www.tonga.islands-travel.com/culture.html

http://www.polynesia.com/tonga/languages.html

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/16092.htm