About Samoan

Samoan is the official language of Samoa and American Samoa, with a significant number of speakers in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Its origins lie in the Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Samoan uses the Latin alphabet, adapted in the 19th century by missionaries.

There are approximately 510,000 speakers of Samoan, which is celebrated for its poetic and musical qualities, rich oral traditions, and the 'fa’a Samoa' or Samoan way of life. An interesting tidbit is that Samoan, like other Polynesian languages, tends to use repeated syllables, which are aesthetically pleasing and integral to its folklore and oral storytelling traditions.