Tuvalu Languages

Tuvalu

Languages

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Description

The Tuvaluan language and English are the national languages of Tuvalu. Tuvaluan is of the Ellicean group of Polynesian languages, distantly related to all other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Rapa Nui, Samoan and Tongan. It is most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian outliers in Micronesia and northern and central Melanesia. The Tuvaluan language has borrowed from the Samoan language, as a consequence of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries being predominantly Samoan.

The Tuvaluan language is spoken by virtually everyone, while a language very similar to Gilbertese is spoken on Nui. English is also an official language but is not spoken in daily use. Parliament and official functions are conducted in the Tuvaluan language.

There are about 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide. Radio Tuvalu transmits Tuvaluan-language programming.

The population of Tuvalu is approximately 10,837 people (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report). There are estimated to be more than 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide. In 2015 it was estimated that more than 3,500 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand, with about half that number born in New Zealand and 65 percent of the Tuvaluan community in New Zealand is able to speak Tuvaluan.

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Tuvaluan Alphabet and Pronunciation

The sound system of Tuvaluan consists of five vowels (/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/). All vowels come in short and long forms, which are contrastive.

Vowels

	Short vowel		Long vowel
	Front vowel	Back vowel	Front	Back
Close	i	u	i	u
Mid vowel	e	o	e	o
Open	a		a

There are no diphthongs so every vowel is sounded separately. Example: taeao ‘tomorrow’ is pronounced as four separate syllables (ta-e-a-o).

Consonants

Consonants

	Labial consonant	Alveolar consonant	Velar consonant	Glottal consonant
Nasal consonant	m	n	ŋ
Plosive	p	t	k
Fricative	f v	s		(h)
Lateral		l

/h/ is used only in limited circumstances in the Nukulaelae dialect.

The sound system of Tuvaluan consists of 10 or 11 consonants (/p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /f/, /v/, /s/, /h/, /l/), depending on the dialect. All consonants also come in short and long forms, which are contrastive.