Tuvaluan language

Tuvaluan, known natively as *Te Ggana Tuuvalu* or simply *te ggana a tatou* ("our language"), is a Polynesian language belonging to the Ellicean group. It is spoken on the island nation of Tuvalu, and is related to languages like Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan, and Tongan, with its closest relatives found among the Polynesian Outliers in Micronesia and parts of Melanesia. The language has borrowed heavily from Samoan, which was brought by Christian missionaries in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Tuvalu’s population is about 10,645 (2017 census), but over 13,000 people worldwide speak Tuvaluan. More than 3,500 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand, roughly half of them born there, and about 65 percent of that community can speak the language.

The language has two main dialect groups: Northern (on Nanumea, Nanumaga, and Niutao) and Southern (on Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, and Nukulaelae). All dialects are mutually intelligible, differing in sound, word forms, and vocabulary. The Funafuti and Vaitupu dialects together form a standard called *te 'gana māsani* ("the common language"), which serves as the de facto national language, though Northern speakers often use their own dialect in public outside their home islands. On the island of Nui, a dialect of Gilbertese—a less related Oceanic language—is spoken. Tuvaluan is also mutually intelligible with Tokelauan.

Historically, Tuvaluan descends from Proto-Polynesian, spoken roughly 2,000 years ago. The language was once known as Ellice or Ellicean, after the former name of the islands.

Tuvaluan is one of the least documented Polynesian languages. The first major work on its syntax was a 1945 handbook by Donald Gilbert Kennedy. Niko Besnier has produced the most academic material, using a phonemic orthography that differs from the Samoan-based spelling most Tuvaluans use—which often fails to mark important distinctions in vowel and consonant length. Jackson’s *An Introduction to Tuvaluan* offers a useful beginner’s guide.

The language has been shaped by contact with Gilbertese, Samoan, and increasingly English. Samoan, introduced by missionaries, had the strongest impact: during the 19th century, it was used for official acts, literacy, and church services until Tuvaluan replaced it in the 1950s. English’s influence is growing, especially since independence in the 1970s, as it is now important for business, government, and foreign communication.

Rising sea levels threaten Tuvalu’s existence, and with it the language. In 2002, the government agreed with New Zealand to allow the migration of up to 11,000 Tuvaluans—essentially the entire population. This gradual resettlement reduces the isolation that once helped maintain the language, placing speakers in a minority-language context. New Zealand holds an annual Tuvaluan Language Week, but forced migration since 2002 has contributed to the language’s endangerment, and further resettlement may increase the risk.