Tahitian
Facts
- Language: Tahitian
- Alternate names:
- Language code: tah
- Language family: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central Pacific linkage, Tokelau-Fijian, Polynesian, Nuclear Polynesian, Northern Outlier Polynesian-East Polynesian, Solomons Northern Outlier Polynesian-East Polynesian, Central Northern Outlier Polynesian-East Polynesian, East Polynesian, Central Eastern Polynesian, Tahitian-Austral
- Number of speakers: 124262
- Script: Latin script
More information:
Introduction
Tahitian, a Tahitic language, is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia (along with French). It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to Rarotongan, New Zealand Māori, and Hawaiian.
Tahitian relies on the use of "helper words" (such as prepositions, articles, and particles) to encode grammatical relationships, rather than on inflection, as would be typical of European languages. It is practically an isolating language, except when it comes to the personal pronouns, which have separate forms for singular, plural and dual numbers.
The verb
Sample verb: amu
amu, to eat
| Sg.1 | `ua 'amu au |
| Sg.2 | `ua 'amu 'oe |
| Sg.3 | `ua 'amu 'ōna |
| Du.1, inclusive | 'ua amu tāua |
| Du.1, exclusive | 'ua amu māua |
| Du.2 | 'ua amu 'ōrua |
| Du.3 | 'ua amu rāua |
| Pl.1, inclusive | 'ua amu tātou |
| Pl.1, exclusive | 'ua amu mātou |
| Pl.2 | 'ua amu 'outou |
| Pl.3 | 'ua amu rātou |
Verblist
- api
- au
- aʻuaʻu puaʻa
- farara
- faʻaroʻo
- faʻatoʻetoʻe roa
- haere
- haere mai
- hauʻa
- haʻapohe
- haʻuti
- hiʻo
- hohoni
- horoi
- huti i te aho
- inu
- manaʻo
- mataʻu
- mate
- mau
- maʻue
- moe
- nati
- nira
- ora
- pao
- patia
- pato
- pehe
- pihaʻe
- pohe
- pāʻato
- rara
- ruru
- tahe
- taparahi
- tatu
- taʻoto
- tiʻa
- topa
- tuha
- turaʻi
- ʻamu
- ʻata
- ʻau
- ʻite
- ʻoru
- ʻote
- ʻotiʻatiʻa
- ʻuiʻui
- ʻume