The Samoa alphabet consists of 14 letters, with another three letters (H, K, R) used in loan words. The ʻ (koma liliu or ʻokina) is used for the glottal stop.
| Aa, Āā | Ee, Ēē | Ii, Īī | Oo, Ōō | Uu, Ūū | Ff | Gg | Ll | Mm | Nn | Pp | Ss | Tt | Vv | (Hh) | (Kk) | (Rr) | ‘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /a/, /aː/ | /ɛ/, /eː/ | /ɪ/, /iː/ | /o/, /ɔː/ | /ʊ, w/, /uː/ | /f/ | /ŋ/ | /l, ɾ/ | /m/ | /n, ŋ/ | /p/ | /s/ | /t, k/ | /v/ | (/h/) | (/k/) | (/ɾ/) | /ʔ/ |
Vowels[]
Vowel length is phonemic in Samoan; all five vowels also have a long form denoted by the macron. For example, tama means child or boy, while tamā means father.
Monophthongs[]
| Short | Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | i | u | iː | uː |
| Mid | e | o | eː | oː |
| Open | a | aː | ||
Diphthongs are /au ao ai ae ei ou ue/.
The combination of u followed by a vowel in some words creates the sound of the English w, a letter not part of the Samoan alphabet, as in uaua (artery, tendon).
/a/ is reduced to [ə] in only a few words, such as mate or maliu 'dead', vave 'be quick'.
Consonants[]
In formal Samoan, used for example in news broadcasts or sermons, the consonants /t n ŋ/ are used. In colloquial Samoan, however, /n ŋ/ merge as [ŋ] and /t/ is pronounced [k].[1]
The glottal stop /ʔ/ is phonemic in Samoan. The presence or absence of the glottal stop affects the meaning of words otherwise spelled the same, e.g. mai = from, originate from; maʻi = sickness, illness.[2]
/l/ is pronounced as a flap [ɾ] following a back vowel (/a, o, u/) and preceding an /i/; otherwise it is [l]. /s/ is less sibilant (hissing) than in English. /ɾ h/ are found in loan words.
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | (n) | ŋ | |
| Plosive | p | (t) | k | ʔ |
| Fricative | f v | s | (h) | |
| Lateral | l | |||
| Rhotic | (r) |
The consonants in parentheses are only present in loanwords and formal Samoan.[3]
Foreign words[]
Loanwords from English and other languages have been adapted to Samoan phonology:
/k/ is retained in some instances (Christ = "Keriso", club = "kalapu", coffee = "kofe"), and has become [t] in rare instances (such as "se totini", from the English "stocking").
/ɹ/ becomes [ɾ] in some instances (e.g. Christ = "Keriso", January = "Ianuari", number = "numera"), and [l] in others (January = "Ianuali", herring = "elegi").
/d/ becomes [t] (David = "Tavita", diamond = "taimane").
/g/ becomes [k] in some cases (gas = "kesi"), while /tʃ/, /ʃ/ and /dʒ/ usually become [s] (Charles = "Salesi", Charlotte = "Salata", James = "Semisi").
/h/ is retained at the beginning of some proper names (Herod = "Herota"), but in some cases becomes an 's' (hammer = "samala"), and is omitted in others (herring = "elegi", half-caste = "afakasi")
/z/ becomes [s] (Zachariah = "Sakaria")
/w/ becomes [v] (William = "Viliamu")
/b/ becomes [p] (Britain = "Peretania", butter = "pata")
Stress[]
Stress generally falls on the penultimate mora; that is, on the last syllable if that contains a long vowel or diphthong or on the second-last syllable otherwise. There are exceptions though, with many words ending in a long vowel taking the accent on the ultima; as ma'elega, zealous; ʻonā, to be intoxicated; faigatā, difficult.
Verbs formed from nouns ending in a, and meaning to abound in, have properly two aʻs, as puaa (puaʻaa), pona, tagata, but are written with one.
In speaking of a place at some distance, the accent is placed on the last syllable; as ʻO loʻo i Safotu, he is at Safotu. The same thing is done in referring to a family; as Sa Muliaga, the family of Muliaga, the term Sa referring to a wide extended family of clan with a common ancestor. So most words ending in ga, not a sign of a noun, as tigā, puapuaga, pologa, faʻataga and aga. So also all words ending in a diphthong, as mamau, mafai, avai.
In speaking the voice is raised, and the emphasis falls on the last word in each sentence.
When a word receives an addition by means of an affixed particle, the accent is shifted forward; as alofa, love; alofága, loving, or showing love; alofagía, beloved.
Reduplicated words have two accents; as palapala, mud; segisegi, twilight. Compound words may have even three or four, according to the number of words and affixes of which the compound word is composed; as tofátumoánaíná, to be engulfed.
The articles le and se are unaccented. When used to form a pronoun or participle, le and se are contractions for le e, se e, and so are accented; as ʻO le ona le mea, the owner, literally the (person) whose (is) the thing, instead of O le e ona le mea. The sign of the nominative ʻo, the prepositions o, a, i, e, and the euphonic particles i and te, are unaccented; as ʻO maua, ma te o atu ia te oe, we two will go to you.
Ina, the sign of the imperative, is accented on the ultima; ína, the sign of the subjunctive, on the penultima. The preposition iá is accented on the ultima, the pronoun ia on the penultima.
Phonotactics[]
Samoan syllable structure is (C)V, where V may be long or a diphthong. A sequence VV may occur only in derived forms and compound words; within roots, only the initial syllable may be of the form V. Metathesis of consonants is frequent, such as manu for namu 'scent', lavaʻau for valaʻau 'to call', but vowels may not be mixed up in this way.
Every syllable ends in a vowel. No syllable consists of more than three sounds, one consonant and two vowels, the two vowels making a diphthong; as fai, mai, tau. Roots are sometimes monosyllabic, but mostly disyllabic or a word consisting of two syllables. Polysyllabic words are nearly all derived or compound words; as nofogatā from nofo (sit, seat) and gatā, difficult of access; taʻigaafi, from taʻi, to attend, and afi, fire, the hearth, making to attend to the fire; talafaʻasolopito, ("history") stories placed in order, faletalimalo, ("communal house") house for receiving guests.
References[]
- ↑ A somewhat similar situation is found in Hawaiian, where /k/ is the reflex of *t and *ŋ has merged with *n.
- ↑ The glottal stop is often represented by an apostrophe in recent publications, and is referred to as the koma liliu (inverted comma).
- ↑ http://linguistics.emory.edu/home/resources/polyglot/phonology.html#samoan