An amazing gift from @kyrakoo and @kalefitmaui! They gave us this lovely Tahitian ukulele, something we regretted not buying ourselves while in Tahiti. It is so fun to play! It uses fishing line for strings. Mahalo Kale & Kyra!!! #Tahiti #tahitian #tahitianukulele #tahitianbanjo #banjo #ukulele #mahalo #maui #hawaii #bestgiftever #asonu
What is the language called in English and the language itself? - The language is called Tahitian in English and Reo Tahiti in the language itself.
Where is the language spoken? - It is spoken in Tahiti and other islands in French Polynesia.
How many people speak the language? - 68,000 people, according to 2007 census. Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages? - It is a Polynesian language and some of its language relatives include Rarotongan and Hawaiian.
What writing system does the language use? - It is written in Latin alphabet.
What kind of grammatical features does the language have? - Tahitian has separate words for inclusive and exclusive we; it distinguishes singular, dual, and plural; word order is VSO; Tahitian has definite and indefinite particle and a particle that is used with proper nouns and pronouns; verbal aspect and modality are important parts of Tahitian grammar.
What does the language sound like?
- Tahitian has five vowels and nine consonants; glottal stop is a genuine consonant; there is a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels in Tahitian; syllables are entirely open. You can listen to what the language sounds like here.
What do you personally find interesting about the language? - I first encountered Tahitian when looking for resources for various Asian and Oceanian languages. I find it intriguing that there are separate words for inclusive and exclusive we: inclusive we includes “you and I and possibly others” and exclusive we includes “he/she/they and i but not you”. It is apparently common to many Austronesian languages.
