Venu Menon
Wellington, August 21,2024
Tonga Language Week 2024 is under way across New Zealand.
The celebration is part of the Pacific Language Week series and aligns with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Decade of Indigenous Languages Programme aimed at sustaining and revitalising heritage languages.
This year’s theme for the Tongan Language Week is sustaining the language by using it at home, church and the community at large.
“Sustainability” is the overarching theme of the Language Week Series.
Tongan Language Week is marked by a range of activities that include workshops, story-telling, community work, dance, as well as art and craft.
These efforts come against the backdrop of a decline in the number of ethnic speakers of Pacific languages, with lea faka Tonga (Tongan language) experiencing the sharpest drop, as per government data.
Of the 82,389 Tongan population in New Zealand, only 40% speak the language, while 16% of under 15s speak their heritage language across all Pacific communities. This calls for innovative ways to promote heritage languages within their respective Pacific communities.
Kakai Tonga (ethnic Tongans), along with Tagata Samoa, make up a substantial proportion of the Pacific population in New Zealand.
However, English is often the language of choice for Pacific families because of its international appeal. This undermines the “status, value and proficiency of lea faka Tonga,” community members note.
But robust efforts have resulted in creating Pacific language nests throughout New Zealand. These efforts include promoting the language via schools, radio networks, print media, Pacific arts and culture festivals, and artisanal practices such as those of master weavers, tapa cloth making, canoe building, as well as fishing practices.
The Pacific Strategy Report 2022-2023 notes:
“Our pacific language is the expression of culture and, more importantly, it empowers Pacific peoples to challenge the dominant discourse that continues to disadvantage our children and their families.”
New Zealand has no constitutional relationship with Tonga. However, the sovereign states in the Pacific neighbourhood form an interrelated cluster that is acknowledged internationally.
The Tongan community accounts for roughly 21.6 % of the Pacific population, making it the second largest Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand. Yet Tongan language retention is declining more sharply than all other Pacific languages in New Zealand.
An action plan to save the Tongan language lays out three key objectives.
The first involves recognising the value of lea faka Tonga across New Zealand through research and key messages showing that strong language abilities lead to strong identities.
Second, expanding the resources for learning the Tongan language by increasing the numbers of lea faka Tonga bilingual units, upskilling Tongan teacher aides to become teachers and engaging with the community through science and culture.
The third key objective is to create an environment for the Tongan language to flourish by promoting its use in the home, which is where it is being lost.
New Zealand and Tonga have close ties going beyond language.
In 2020, New Zealand marked 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The previous year, they signed a Statement of Partnership which reaffirmed the “mutual commitment to democracy, human rights, gender equality, effective governance, the rule of law, environmental stewardship, and strong regional and international cooperation.”
The New Zealand Parliament houses a selection of taonga (cultural treasures) and art from Tonga.
The Tongan Language Week runs from 18 to 24 August 2024.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
