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Pago Pago, American Samoa— New Zealand Samoan speakers disagree about the use of certain diacritics and glottal stops when learning.
While language experts agree that there is an ongoing discussion about how to make written and read text more consistent, opinions differ on the use of macrons and glottal stops (which indicate specific pronunciations).
A diacritical mark, also called an umlaut, is any mark, shape, stroke, or symbol added or attached to a letter for a specific reason.
The specific reason for using diacritical marks depends on the symbol itself, and often on the language in which it is used.
Lemoa Henry Fesuluai, a Samoan language lecturer at the University of Auckland, said it was important to develop a consistent background and structure for written Samoan, and to develop reading skills beyond existing nature.
“That’s the progress we want these second language Samoan learners to make: that they become expert learners and become familiar with how our written and read Samoan language works.
“A lot of Samoans who were born in New Zealand are already immersed in the language and I don’t think they have to acquire diacritics because of their understanding of the language.”
Historically, Christian missionaries introduced diacritical marks, including glottal stops and macrons, to the Samoan language in the 19th century.
These symbols helped ensure accurate pronunciation and meaning of written texts, such as Reverend George Pratt’s translation of the Bible.
However, in the mid-20th century, the then Western Samoa Ministry of Education excluded diacritical marks from written Samoan.
This policy resulted in several generations of speakers not using these marks.
As Samoan language courses are introduced in New Zealand, there is a push to reintroduce diacritics to aid language learning.
Ainslie Chu Ling-So’o, a former language specialist at the Samoan Ministry of Education, said diacritics should be used consistently, or consistently, to ensure people fully mastered literacy in Samoan.
Ling-So’o conducted research for her master’s thesis in linguistics where she showed the impact of dyslexia on children learning Samoan.
She said her research confirmed the need for these diacritics — to aid comprehension of words and prevent learners from trying to guess the correct pronunciation in their absence.
“In our language, the use of diacritics is absolutely essential – the diacritics for glottal stops represented by the apostrophe and for lengthened vowels by the macron are the only diacritics we use for vowels.”
The reintroduction of Samoan into mainstream curricula in places such as New Zealand has brought renewed attention to the use of diacritical marks.
Despite these initiatives, there are still inconsistencies in how diacritics are used.
Teachers, especially those in diaspora communities, often lack extensive exposure to the nuances of the language, impacting their ability to teach Samoan effectively.
Musuiaiga Neil Sitagata-Tapu from Manukau Institute of Technology said as a language educator there was still an issue with marking which they were working to correct as some students used diacritics and some did not.
“The diacritics here are just for pronunciation,” he said.
He said he decides to use the scores based on the people he interacts with and their proficiency in the Samoan language.
“If I’m writing to someone who’s not familiar with the language, I’ll add diacritics for the only person who can pronounce it correctly.”
However, when it comes to sports commentary and the names of Samoan athletes, Tautai A’e Podcast host Asiata Vaoliko says the markings are vital, especially when it comes to pronouncing Sāmoa.
Asiate For example, the name Papāalii (pronounced: pah-pah-ah-lee-e) would become Papaalii (pah-pah-lee) without the macron.
Likewise, rugby league star Jerome Lūa’i’s name is often pronounced by commentators as “loo-why” rather than “loo-wah-e”.
(Editor’s note: I grew up in American Samoa and was often told that you can tell the difference between native speakers and people who learned Samoan from a book – the use of diacritics is “book knowledge” not native speakers. Guess which one is more popular? ra)
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