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Tongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has 100,000 speakers & occurs as national language of Tonga. These are the VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) language.

Related languages
Tongan is one of a numbers of tongues in the Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, along with Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan and Tahitian, for example. Together using Niuean, it forms the Tongic subgroup of Polynesian.

A English word "taboo" is a loan word from Tongan.

Tongan Alphabet:

the when within fthether
e when inside one thousandet
f when inside foot
h when within horse
we when within machine
k when inside 1000ing
l when within 50ead
m when inside man
north whenorth inside nest
ng when within singer (non when inside finger)
o whenorth within note
p when within stop
s when inside see
t when around time
u when within tune
v when within 5ine
''fakau'the (' ' ), a glottal prevent, is pronounced such as a "break" or even "catch" inside uh-oh.

Syllabification

Each syllable has exactly a single vowel. the total of syllables around a word is exactly capable the total of vowels it has.

Each syllable could use at times those days are ga single than one consonant.

Consonant combinations are non permitted. Ng' is non the consonant combination, since it is one healthy.

Each syllable must prevent within the vowel.

The fakau'the occurs as consonant. It must become followed (&, except at the beginning of the word, preceded) by a vowel.

Stress usually lessens on the next to previous syllable of the word using 2 or other syllables. But, it can be shifted to the previous syllable or even to a second syllable under certain conditions. A usual one is that any yearn vowel is stressed, still, short vowels can besides exist as stressed, either in the next-to-last syllable or even whilst needed per system of the definitive accent. Once stress is shifted from either a next-to-last syllable, an accent mark should exist as shown above a accented vowel, unless these are already yearn. Ofttimes, nonetheless, this rule is ignored.

Divide into 3 types of language
Language for the King
'Language for the Hou'eiki Language for the People'''

Literature

Tongan is primarily the spoken, like than written, language. Exclusively a Bible, a Book of Mormon, & two or three more books come written inside Tongan. There are non plenty humans world health organization potty see Tongan to commercially justify publication books in the language. Virtually all reading literature available around Tonga is within English.

There are two or three weekly & every month magazines inside Tongan, however no every day newspapers.

Internet
Planet Tonga is possibly a better source for info all about Tonga (partially in the Tongan language).

Tongan Dictionary Project
Tongan-English/English-Tongan dictionary, the result of a school project in Brookvale, Australia. Features sound files for the Tongan words.

A little dictionary of Italian/Tongan/English
Word lists Italian-Tongan-English, organized by topic.


Regional: Oceania: Tonga
Science: Social Sciences: Linguistics: Languages: Natural: Austronesian: Malayo-Polynesian: Eastern: Tongan





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