Samoan language
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAM : 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.
Grammar
Pronouns
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-.
Reference
- Payne, Thomas E. 1997. Describing morphosyntax: a guide for field linguists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58224-5.
External links
- [Ethnologue main Samoan page]
- [Samoan - English Dictionary]
- [Samoan Dictionary] - An online Samoan dictionary. Samoan to English, English to Samoan.
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