Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook, Revised Edition

Lesona 1. Pronunciation

333333333333333  To assist with pronunciation, selected lessons in Gagana Sāmoa are also available on CD. The CD symbol appears in the margin to indicate recorded text. Samoan alphabet The written form of the Samoan language was organised and devised by the London Missionary Society in the early to mid-1800s. Before then Samoan was only a spoken language. The written system formulated then consisted of 5 vowels and 10 consonants. A E I O U a e i o u F G L M N P S T V ‘ (glottal stop) f g l m n p s t v ‘ (glottal stop) Later, the three consonants H K R / h k r were added to accommodate the introduction of new words from foreign languages, mainly English, Latin, and Greek. These three consonants are part of other Polynesian languages. Vowels The five vowels have “short” and “long” pronunciations. The short forms are similar to the way these vowels are pronounced in a number of European languages, while the long vowel forms (originally devised by linguists) have macrons above the vowels to indicate long vowel sounds (e.g., Ā, ā, etc.). A — long, as in father O — long, as in low (no w glide), e.g., (lolō) short, as the u in cut short, as o in nonE — long, as in hey (no y glide) U — long, as u in true short, as e in set short, as u in put I — long, as ee in week (avoid the ew sound as in few) short, as i in sit Note: A macron changes the meaning of the word. Sometimes the macron is omitted in written Samoan, and the correct word is determined by context, especially in Sāmoa itself where native speakers often determine meaning in this way. LESONA 1 Pronunciation ≥  Gagana Sāmoa a — tala (story) ā — tālā (dollar) e — tele (many) ē — telē (big) i — fili (enemy) ī — filī (flea) o — moli (orange) ō — mōlī (light) u — susu (milk) ū — susū (wet) Consonants Altogether, thirteen consonants are used in the Samoan alphabet: F G L M N P S T V, together with H K R, and the glottal stop, ‘ . The consonants are pronounced as in English, although the S sound is often less sibilant (not so hissing). The exception is the letter G, which is a soft ng sound, as in sing. Practise these words: Gagana, gogo, logo. ‘ Glottal stop There is an additional speech sound known as the “glottal stop,” which is represented by the inverted comma (‘). It occurs either before or between vowels in many Samoan words and is treated as a consonant. for example: ‘ava (beard) va‘a (boat) tu‘u (put) ti‘eti‘e (sit) The sound of the glottal stop is similar to the sound heard when pronouncing the word “bottle” without the two t’s, i.e., “bo‘le”. The glottal stop must be carefully observed as its omission would change the meaning of many words. for example: ava (passage in the reef) ‘ava (beard) Sounds that are not Samoan sounds ‘Y’ sound: When the letter “i” is followed by another unaccented vowel, a ‘y’ sound appears in the pronunciation. There is no letter “y” in the Samoan language. for example: vaiaso (week) — vie-yah-so iata (yard) — yah-tuh ‘W’ sound: When the letter “u” is followed by another unaccented vowel, a “w” sound appears . There is no “w” in the Samoan language. for example: uō (friend) — woe uila (bicycle) — wee-luh uaua (artery) — like wawa ≥ ≥ ≥ Lesona   Diphthongs (vowel combinations) When two different vowels stand side by side in the same word, it is important to give each its own pronunciation, i.e., retaining its separate sound until by practice the vowels “run together”. Particular vowel combinations can provide difficulties at first. for example: vae and vai; these sound almost the same to the ear of the non-Samoan. When correctly spoken they clearly indicate leg (vae) and water (vai). others include: sao and sau toe and toi pou and pō Emphasis In general it is the second to last (or penultimate) syllable that is emphasised or stressed. If a word ends in a diphthong or with a long vowel, the stress will fall on this final diphthong or long vowel. for example: ma‘alili (cold) puta (fat) Be alert however to exceptions, usually denoted by a macron (¯) over the letter to be stressed or lengthened. for example: mālōlō (rest) fīt...