Te ggana Tuuvalu
Tuvaluan
Austronesian (Polynesian, Ellicean)
Tuvaluan (te ggana Tūvalu) is the national language of Tuvalu, one of the world's smallest sovereign states (~11,000 inhabitants on nine atolls in the central Pacific). With ~10K speakers, it is closely related to Samoan and Tokelauan, all forming the Ellicean Polynesian subgroup. Distinctive features include geminate consonants (written double: ppoto "wisdom"), a 5-vowel system with length contrast, and an inclusive/exclusive 1st person plural distinction. The Bible (translated 1860s onwards) was foundational for the Latin orthography.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Tuvaluan
Water
vai
/vai/
Fire
afi
/afi/
Sun
laa
/laː/
Moon
masina
/masina/
Star
fetū
/feˈtuː/
Mother
maatua
/maːtua/
Father
tamana
/tamana/
I
au
/au/
You
koe
/koe/
Name
igoa
/iˈŋoa/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hand
lima
/lima/
Heart
fatu
/fatu/
Love
alofa
/alofa/
Tree
laakau
/laːkau/
House
fale
/fale/
Dog
kuli
/kuli/
Cat
pusi
/pusi/
Eat
kai
/kai/
Drink
inu
/inu/
One
tasi
/tasi/
Two
lua
/ˈlua/
Hello
taalofa
/taːlofa/
Thank you
fakafetai
/fakafetai/
Good
lei
/lei/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Polynesian, Ellicean) languages
| Meaning | Tuvaluan | Tokelauan | Niuean | Samoan | Tongan | East Futunan | Cook Islands Māori |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ |
| Fire | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /ˈafi/ | ahi /ahi/ |
| Sun | laa /laː/ | la /la/ | lā /laː/ | lā /laː/ | laʻā /laʔaː/ | la'ā /laˈʔaː/ | rā /raː/ |
| Moon | masina /masina/ | malama /malama/ | mahina /mahina/ | māsina /maːsina/ | māhina /maːhina/ | māsina /maːˈsina/ | marama /marama/ |
| Star | fetū /feˈtuː/ | fetu /fetu/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ | fetū /fetuː/ | fetuʻu /fetuʔu/ | fetu'u /feˈtuʔu/ | etū /eˈtuː/ |
| Mother | maatua /maːtua/ | mātua /maːtua/ | matua fifine /matua fifine/ | tinā /tinaː/ | faʻē /faʔeː/ | tinana /tiˈnana/ | māmā /maːmaː/ |
| Father | tamana /tamana/ | tamana /tamana/ | matua taane /matua taːne/ | tamā /tamaː/ | tamai /tamai/ | tamana /taˈmana/ | pāpā /paːpaː/ |
| I | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | a'u /aʔu/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ |
| You | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | 'oe /ʔoe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /ˈkoe/ | koe /koe/ |
| Name | igoa /iˈŋoa/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | higoa /hiˈŋoa/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | hingoa /hiŋoa/ | igoa /iˈŋoa/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /ˈmata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hand | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | nima /nima/ | lima /ˈlima/ | rima /ɾima/ |
| Heart | fatu /fatu/ | fatu /fatu/ | fatu /fatu/ | loto /loto/ | loto /loto/ | mafu /ˈmafu/ | ngākau /ŋaːkau/ |
| Love | alofa /alofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | fakaalofa /fakaalofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | ʻofa /ʔofa/ | alofa /aˈlofa/ | aro'a /aɾoʔa/ |
| Tree | laakau /laːkau/ | lakau /lakau/ | akau /akau/ | laʻau /laʔau/ | ʻakau /ʔakau/ | la'akau /laʔaˈkau/ | rākau /raːkau/ |
| House | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | fale /ˈfale/ | 'are /ʔaɾe/ |
| Dog | kuli /kuli/ | kuli /kuli/ | kuli /kuli/ | maile /maile/ | kulī /kuliː/ | kulī /kuˈliː/ | kurī /kuɾiː/ |
| Cat | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | pūsi /ˈpuːsi/ | ngiao /ŋiao/ |
| Eat | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | ʻai /ʔai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ |
| Drink | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /ˈinu/ | inu /inu/ |
| One | tasi /tasi/ | tahi /tahi/ | taha /taha/ | tasi /tasi/ | taha /taha/ | tasi /ˈtasi/ | ta'i /taʔi/ |
| Two | lua /ˈlua/ | lua /lua/ | ua /ua/ | lua /lua/ | ua /ua/ | lua /ˈlua/ | rua /ˈrua/ |
| Hello | taalofa /taːlofa/ | malo ni /malo ni/ | fakaalofa atu /fakaalofa atu/ | talofa /talofa/ | mālō e lelei /maːloː e lelei/ | mālō /maːˈloː/ | kia orāna /kia oɾaːna/ |
| Thank you | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | fakaaue /fakaaue/ | faʻafetai /faʔafetai/ | mālō /maːloː/ | mālō /maːˈloː/ | meitaki /meitaki/ |
| Good | lei /lei/ | lelei /lelei/ | mitaki /mitaki/ | lelei /lelei/ | lelei /lelei/ | mālie /maːˈlie/ | meitaki /meitaki/ |
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