IP 199 Tuamotuan

The language: Tuamotuan is an Austronesian [Malayo-Polynesian] language spoken throughout the Tuamotu Islands which itself is part of French Polynesia in the South Pacific. French Polynesia, in turn, consists of 5 island groups of which the Tuamotu Archipelagos is in the eastern part of the French Territory. Tuamotuan is related to other languages in the area such as Tahitian, Marquesan, Mangarevan [within French Polynesia] and Hawaiian and Rapa Nui [outside of French Polynesia]. There are only a few thousand speakers of the language who live in the island group of some 70 low coral atolls, the largest group of atolls in the world. Perhaps nearly half as many speakers of Tuamotuan life on Tahiti.

The course: At the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Tuamotuan has been taught on an intermittent basis, usually in response to the needs of students and staff who have already extensively studied some other Polynesian language [usually Tahitian] and who plan to travel, conduct research and study in the Marquesas or Tahiti. The course has been conducted on a non-intensive [one credit] basis and builds on structural and lexical links to another Polynesian language while pointing out the uniqueness of Tuamotuan. Students can expect to gain an understanding of the structure and history of the language, its relationship to other Polynesian languages as well as the literature IN and ABOUT the language.

Materials: Materials consist of readings of linguistic descriptions of the language at various points in time. Students may conduct some readings from traditional folklore texts for which the University also has tape recordings. The tapes have been recorded by native speakers of Tuamotuan. The course may be repeated for credit.

For more information, contact the
Coordinator of the Tahitian Language Program
Prof. Jack H. Ward
Department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI 96822
Telephone: 808.956.3561
email: jward@hawaii.edu