Origin of the Polynesian languages

All Polynesian languages are derived from Indo-Malaysian also called today austronesian languages. The relation between Tahitian and Malaysian was established by European linguists in the 18^th century thanks to the visit of Ahutoru, the first Tahitian brought back by Bougainville while traveling to Tahiti. The autronesian is divided into 2 branches :

• Easter Pacific languages (or Oceanian languages) : French Polynesia, Hawaii, Cook, New Zeland
• Western Pacific languages : Philipins, Indonesia

In French Polynesia, there is not one but several Polynesian languages due to large distances separating archipelagos. All of them are known under the generic term Reo ma’ohi (reo means language). The designation of these languages comes from the island’s name of the people speaking them. Thus, we can distinguish 5 different Polynesian languages, showing sometimes important differences :

• Society Islands : the Tahitian or reo tahiti
• Tuamotu islands : the Paumotu or reo pa’umotu
• Marquesas islands:  the Marquesian or reo ‘enata
• Australs: Austral language or reo tuha ‘apae
• Gambiers: the Mangarevian or reo ma’areva

The most widely spoken language remains reo tahiti because of the strong Society islands demography (86% of the population). It is used as a communication language throughout French Polynesia.

Characteristics of Reo Tahiti

English missioners were the first to print books in Tahitian after they decided to use the occidental alphabet to write down Tahitian that was until then only spoken. On March 8^th, 1805, a uniform alphabet proposed by John DAVIS (Welsh historian and linguist) is adopted by the missioners. It uses 8 consonants (f, h, m, n, p, r, t, v) and 5 vowels  (a, e, i, o, u).

If the Tahitian language includes only 1,000 different words, its structure and pronunciation – very different from European languages – make it difficult to learn for foreigners. R’s are rolled, H’s are aspired, U’s are pronounced “oo”. Moreover, some Tahitian words are mixed with French like motu (islet), api (new), popa’a (Europeans), tinito(Chinese), poti marara (fishing boat), uru (bread fruit & trees), tane (man), vahine (woman), fare (house) ….

Remark : another language is used in Tahiti : the eye language ! Don’t be surprise, lifting eyebrows means yes or hello…

Reo Tahiti rehabilitated

In 1975, the Tahitian Academy composed of 20 members is created and after having been considered as a foreign language for over 40 years during the 20^th century, Tahitian reappear in schools in 1982.

Actually, in 1980, the Territorial Assembly decides to consider Tahitian as an official language with the same status as French. But this decision was not included in the 1996-status of French Polynesia as the French Constitution does not allow to have several official languages on French territories. Consequently, from an official point of view, the Tahitian language can be considered only as a regional dialect.

Since 1999, reo ma’ohi language is celebrated every November 28^th and it is now taught alongside with French.

Reo ma’ohi lexicon

Reo ma’ohi French English 1. Practical e oui yes aita non no ia ora na  bonjour hello nana  au revoir bye mauruuru merci thanks mauruuru roa merci beaucoup thanks a lot e aha te huru ? comment ca va ? how are you ? maita’i bien well maita’i roa très bien very well maeva ! manava ! bienvenue welcome manuia ! santé ! cheers ! aita pe’a pe’a pas de problème no problem tama’a maita’i bon appétit enjoy your meal tama’a, ma’a manger, nourriture to eat, meal inu boire to drink pia bière beer ta’oto dormir to sleep himene chanter to sing parau parler to talk haere aller to go tapu interdire to forbid va’a pirogue canoe poe perle pearl poe rava perle noire black pearl fenua terre, pays land, country manureva avion plane poti bateau boat titeri billet ticket muto’i policier policeman taote médecin doctor ra’au médicament medecine moni argent money nui grand big iti petit small, little api nouveau new vitiviti vite hurry up tane homme man vahine femme woman tamarii enfants children fa’a’amu adopter (un enfant) adopting hoa ami friend mea truc thing toa magasin shop heiva fête de juillet July feast te here nei au je t’aime I love you popa’a européen European tinito chinois Chinese marite américain American tapone japonais Japanese ma’ohi polynésien Polynesian 2. Places fare hotera hotel hotel fare inura’a bar bar fare iti toilettes toilets fare moni banque bank fare taote cabinet médical doctor’s office fare ra’au pharmacie chemist shop fare purera’a église church fare muto’i commissariat police station fare oire mairie City Hall fare rata poste post office matete marché market tei hea … ? Où ca ? Where about ? 3. Nature motu île island reva, ra’i ciel sky tiare fleur flower fetia étoile star moana ocean ocean miti mer, rivière sea, river pape eau water ava passe reef pass mahana soleil, jour sun, day manu oiseau bird ‘aute hibiscus hibiscus one sable sand pupu coquillage seashell ma’o requin shark 4. Week days monire lundi Monday mahana piti mardi Tuesday mahana toru mercredi Wednesday mahana maha jeudi Thursday mahana pae vendredi Friday mahana ma’a samedi Saturday tapati dimanche Sunday

ho’e	1	ono	6
piti	2	hitu	7
toru	3	va’u	8
maha	4	iva	9
pae	5	‘ahuru	10
‘ahuru ma ho’e	11	‘ahuru ma piti	12
piti ‘ahuru	20	toru ‘ahuru	30
hanere	100	hanere ma ho’e	101
piti hanere	200	tautini	1000

Sources :
– Ministery of Culture – French Polynesia
– Parler Tahitien, by D.T Tryon