Samoa Language

The official language is Samoan which is spoken across the majority of the islands. Samoan is the oldest and most spoken Polynesian language with an estimated 510,000 speakers worldwide. It is most recognised for its phonological differences between formal and informal discussion as well as ceremonial speech used in Samoan oratory. The language is closely associated to other Polynesian languages with many sharing the same cognate words such as tapu, 'ava, atau, as well as numerals.

The Samoan language consists of a 14 letter latin-based alphabet. The consonants include F, G, L, M, N, P, S, T and V. The vowels include A, E, I, O and U. All vowels are sounded out, even if several of them appear next to each other within a word. For example, the village of Nu'uuli is pronounced as New-u-u-lee.

English is widely spoken in Samoa and is predominately used for business communications. Many Samoan's are fully bilingual, so you shouldn't have any trouble communicating on your tropical holiday. However, to fully immerse yourself in this humble nation why not try out some of the following phrases.

Basic Words

Numbers

Numbers
1 = tasi
2 = lua
3 = tolu
4 = fa
5 = lima
6 = ono
7 = fitu
8 = valu
9 = iva
10 = sefulu
20 = lua sefulu
50 = lima sefulu
100 = selau
1000 = afe