This article is about the Polynesian language. It is not to be confused with Tonga language or Dungan language.
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(March 2022)
Tongan
lea faka-Tonga
Native to
Tonga; significant immigrant community in New Zealand and the United States
Native speakers
(187,000
96,000 in Tonga cited 1998)[1] 73,000 elsewhere (no date), primarily in NZ, U.S., and Australia[2]
Language family
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Oceanic
Polynesian
Tongic
Tongan
Writing system
Latin-based
Official status
Official language in
Tonga
Language codes
ISO 639-1
to
ISO 639-2
ton
ISO 639-3
ton
Glottolog
tong1325
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Tongan (English pronunciation: /ˈtɒŋ(ɡ)ən/TONG-(g)ən;[3][4][5][a]lea fakatonga) is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch native to the island nation of Tonga. It has around 187,000 speakers.[6] It uses the word order verb–subject–object.
^Tongan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^Tongan language at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
^"Tongan". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 February 2022. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^"Tongan". Lexico. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
^"Tongan". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
^"Tongan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
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