As a language that was only written down for the first time in the early 1800s, and because it’s not that widely spoken around the world, we don’t have a lot of grammar and language-use resources for the gagana Samoa (and the few that we do have don’t always agree with each other…but we’ll talk more about that later).
In this guide, I’m sharing everything I know about the Samoan language from my long lifetime (cause I’m old) of being Samoan, from my last decade and a half of researching and sometimes blogging about Samoan things (mostly at Anavatau, formerly known as One Samoana) and from the five Samoan language grammar references that I have been studying for the last year or so.
We’re covering everything from a bit of Samoan language history to essential Samoan words and phrases, to how we use nouns and verbs and especially how we arrange those words into actual Samoan sentences.
(Use the links in the sidebar (scroll down if you’re on mobile) to jump around our Samoan Language Guide.)
As much as possible, I will include audio so you can hear what our language sounds like, but please note that if your goal here is to have conversations in Samoan, this guide cannot replace practice, practice, practice!
Use this guide only as a reference for when you’re figuring out how our language works, but it’s probably best to spend more of your learning time actually speaking with your Samoan-speaking parents or neighbours or…maybe it’s time to make some new Samoan friends.
Good?
Okay.
Let’s get started with ⫸ An Introduction to the Samoan Language
Enjoy!