What is the most spoken Polynesian language?
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What is the most spoken Polynesian language?
Samoan
The best-known Polynesian languages are Samoan, with about 200,000 speakers; Maori, spoken in New Zealand by about 100,000 persons; Tahitian, with an unknown number of native speakers but widely used as a lingua franca in French Polynesia; and Hawaiian, with only a few remaining native speakers but formerly spoken by …
Is Filipino Malayo-Polynesian?
Today five Malayo-Polynesian languages have official status in five important states: Malagasy, in Madagascar; Malay, in Malaysia; Indonesian (also called Bahasa Indonesia, and based on Malay), in Indonesia; Pilipino (based on Tagalog), in the Philippines; and Maori, in New Zealand. …
Is Fijian a Polynesian language?
The family of Central Pacific or Central Oceanic languages, also known as Fijian–Polynesian, are a branch of the Oceanic languages….Central Pacific languages.
| Central Pacific | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Fiji and Polynesia |
| Linguistic classification | Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Central–Eastern Central Pacific |
How many different Polynesian languages are there?
thirty Polynesian languages
Most researchers agree that about thirty Polynesian languages can be identified. None is spoken by more than half a million people, and about half are spoken by a thousand people or fewer. The languages with the largest numbers of native speakers are Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, and Tongan.
How did Austronesians get to Philippines?
Based on the current scientific consensus, they originated from a prehistoric seaborne migration, known as the Austronesian expansion, from pre-Han Taiwan, at around 3000 to 1500 BCE. Austronesians reached the northernmost Philippines, specifically the Batanes Islands, by around 2200 BCE.
Where is French Polynesia?
South Pacific Ocean
Tahiti, also known as The Islands of Tahiti, or French Polynesia, is located in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between California and Australia.
Then, you have Samoans with almost 600,000 Samoans or people of Samoan descent. Then, the 3rd largest group is Tahitians with over 185,000 Tahitians or people of Tahitian descent. Now that being said, Gagana Samoa (Samoan language) is the most spoken language amongst Polynesian language, by far.
What are the 10 oldest languages in the world?
The 10 Oldest Languages still spoken in the World Today. 1 1. Hebrew. Year: 10th century BCE Country/Area of Origin: Israel Number of speakers: Over 9 million people worldwide. 2 2. Basque. 3 3. Tamil. 4 4. Arabic. 5 5. Farsi/ Persian.
What is the native language of New Zealand called?
New Zealand portal. Māori (/ˈmaʊri/; Māori pronunciation: [ˈmaːɔɾi] listen), also known as te reo (“the language”), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of New Zealand.
What was the first language of the Maori people?
Until the Second World War (1939–1945), most Māori people spoke Māori as their first language. Worship took place in Māori; it functioned as the language of Māori homes; Māori politicians conducted political meetings in Māori, and some literature appeared in Māori, along with many newspapers.