Tokelau, Swains Island (American Samoa, United States)
Ethnicity
Tokelauans
Native speakers
1,200 in Tokelau (2020)[1] 2,500 in New Zealand (2013 census)[1]
Language family
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian?
Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Central–Eastern Oceanic
Central Pacific
East Central Pacific
Polynesian
Nuclear Polynesian
Samoic or Ellicean
Pukapukic?
Samoan–Tokelauan?
Tokelauan
Official status
Official language in
Tokelau
Language codes
ISO 639-2
tkl
ISO 639-3
tkl
Glottolog
toke1240
ELP
Tokelauan
Tokelauan is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)
Tokelauan (/toʊkəˈlaʊən/)[2] is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and historically by the small population of Swains Island (or Olohega) in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with English in Tokelau. There are approximately 4,260 speakers of Tokelauan, of whom 2,100 live in New Zealand, 1,400 in Tokelau, and 17 in Swains Island. "Tokelau" means "north-northeast".[3]
Loimata Iupati, Tokelau's resident Director of Education, has stated that he is in the process of translating the Bible from English into Tokelauan.
While many Tokelau residents are multilingual, Tokelauan was the language of day-to-day affairs in Tokelau until at least the 1990s,[4] and is spoken by 88% of Tokelauan residents.[5] Of the 4600 people who speak the language, 1600 of them live in the three atolls of Tokelau – Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo. Approximately 3000 people in New Zealand speak Tokelauan, and the rest of the known Tokelauan speakers are spread across Australia, Hawaii, and the West Coast of the United States.[6] The Tokelauan language closely resembles its more widely spoken and close genealogical relative, Samoan; the two maintain a degree of mutual intelligibility.[7]
^ abTokelauan at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
^Cite error: The named reference hooperhuntsman92 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Profile of Tokelau: 2016 Tokelau Census of Population and Dwellings" (PDF). Tokelau National Statistics Office and Stats NZ. 2017. p. 25. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Ethnology of Tokelau Islands". Victoria University of Wellington.
and 25 Related for: Tokelauan language information
Tokelauan (/toʊkəˈlaʊən/) is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and historically by the small population of Swains Island (or Olohega) in American...
Tokelauans live in New Zealand. A small number also live in Samoa. The Tokelauanlanguage is part of the Polynesian language family. Most Tokelauans are...
Tokelau has two official languages: Tokelauan and English. Over 90% of the population speaks Tokelauan, and just under 60% speak English. Also, 45.8%...
language – formerly spoken in New Zealand's Chatham Islands Niuean language – spoken in the New Zealand associated state of Niue Tokelauanlanguage –...
island nations. Approximately 94% of the population speak Tokelauan as their first language. Tokelau has the smallest economy of any nation. It is a leader...
Asplenium nidus is an epiphytic species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, eastern Australia, Hawaii (ʻēkaha in...
General elections were held in Tokelau on 26 January 2023. The previous elections were held in 2020. The General Fono consists of a Faipule (representative)...
that time. He named the island "Duke of York's island". According to Tokelauan oral tradition, Atafu was established by a man named Tonuia and his wife...
dependencies along with their capital cities, in English and non-English official language(s). In bold: internationally recognized sovereign states The 193 member...
2022. [we] can further define the word culture to mean language. Thus we have the French language part of Oceania, the Spanish part and the Japanese part...
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The current head of government (Tokelauan: Ulu-o-Tokelau) is Alapati Tavite, who presides over the Council for the...
"Reo Rapa: A Polynesian Contact Language Contact". Journal of Language: 119. Hooper, Robin (1994). Studies in Tokelauan syntax. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University...
kōrua SBJV happy 2DU 'May you two be happy.' The Tokelauanlanguage is a tenseless language. The language uses the same words for all three tenses; the phrase...
politician who currently serves as the Head of the Government of Tokelau (Tokelauan: Ulu-o-Tokelau), or Ulu. The office of Ulu rotates on an annual basis...
skin conga), and bass drums. Most of their songs are written in the Tokelauanlanguage, reflecting the heritage of band founder, singer, and main songwriter...
Samoan culture Samoan language Samoans Second Samoan Civil War Siege of Apia Tokelauanlanguage (belongs to the group of Samoic languages, and is derived from...
Guano Company claimed Duke of Clarance along with a number of other Tokelauan atolls under the U.S. Guano Islands Act. The U.S. State Department bonded...
inland) *hake, and downwards (downhill, seawards) *hifo. In the Tokelauanlanguage, the Polynesian venitive and andative particles mai and atu have evidential...
Tokelauanlanguage, with little variation due to age. 90.4% of Tokelauans reported being 'good' or 'very good' at reading Tokelauan. In the Tokelauan...
is a list of endangered languages of Oceania, based on the definitions used by UNESCO. An endangered language is a language that it is at risk of falling...
Treaty of Tokehega, the U.S. formally renounced its prior claim on all Tokelauan islands now under New Zealand sovereignty, including Fakaofu, and a maritime...
The General Fono (Tokelauan: Fono Fakamua) is the parliament of Tokelau. It has 20 members (15 before 2008), representing the 3 atolls. Elections are...
the near future.[citation needed] Nukuoro language Polynesian outlier Polynesian languagesTokelauanlanguage Kapingamarangi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)...
The national badge of Tokelau depicts a tuluma, which is a traditional Tokelauan carved wooden “tackle box” used by local fishermen. A white cross in the...
Global Information
Tokelau
