Samoan language
The
Sāmoan or
Samoan language is the traditional language of
Samoa and
American Samoa and is an official language in both territories. It is a member of the
Austronesian family, and more specifically the
Samoic branch of the
Polynesian subphylum. There are 370,337 Samoan-speakers worldwide, nearly half of them in Samoa.
Like many Austronesian languages, Samoan has separate words for
inclusive we and
exclusive we, and distinguishes
singular,
dual, and
plural.
Samoan personal pronouns | singular | dual | plural | | First person exclusive | a'u / 'ita / ta | mā'ua / mā | mātou |
|---|
| First person inclusive | tā'ua / tā | tātou |
|---|
| Second person | 'oe / 'e | 'oulua | 'outou / tou |
|---|
| Third person | ia / na | lā'ua | lātou |
|---|
In formal speech, fuller forms of
mā-,
tā-, and
lā- are
imā-, itā-, and
'ilā-.* Payne, Thomas E. 1997.
Describing morphosyntax: a guide for field linguists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58224-5.
*
Ethnologue main Samoan page*
Samoan - English Dictionary*
Samoan Dictionary - An online Samoan dictionary. Samoan to English, English to Samoan.
