Everything You Need To Learn Samoan
Samoan (Gagana fa’a Samoa) is a Polynesian language spoken by about 500,000 people. The vast majority of speakers live in Samoa, while smaller communities can be found in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Samoan is a language in the Austronesian family, which also includes Māori, and Hawaiian. It is closely related to other Polynesian languages, including Tongan and Fijian.
Learners of Samoan have probably noticed that there are very few quality resources with which to learn the language. This is due in large part to the fact that, outside of Samoa, the language isn’t very well-known.
We’ve gathered together what we could find, and hope you’ll find them useful.
Samoan Language Learning Books
A good place to start your language journey is with a Samoan course/study book. You’ll be introduced to basic Samoan vocabulary and grammar, and learn how to construct your own sentences.
You’ll also need a concise English-Samoan dictionary, which will come in very handy as you progress in your studies. You’ll encounter many new Samoan words, and keeping a good reference book close by will make looking them up easy.
Samoan Children’s Books
Reading children’s books written in Samoan is a great way to expand your vocabulary and get comfortable with the language. Samoan kids’ books make it easy to get accustomed to how the language is used in its natural, native state.
Bilingual English-Samoan stories are especially useful, as you can follow along with the story using the English text as a guide.
