These are some words that I know
Kaungame'a, vaka, kainga, 'ofa,
these are some words that I know
Mālō e lelei, tokoua, fefe hake, sai pe,
these are some words that I know
Mana, fefine, kalo, vai,
these are some words that I know
Sikoti, langi, hafakasi, otai,
these are some words that I know
"We're cousins, you know, we go back thousands of years",
these are some words I didn't know
"We share languages, words, brave navigator histories",
these are some words I didn't know
"Yes - you say mo'unga, we say maunga,
And there's mauna and mo'ua too"
"You're connected to us, we're related, you know",
these are some words I didn't know
Four hundred (plus!) languages in the Oceanic Pacific,
these are some words I recently learned
Twelve hundred languages in the Austronesian language family,
these are some words I recently learned
From Taiwan to Madagascar, Vanuatu to Rapa Nui,
these are some words I recently learned
Each one of them a treasure, holding stories, our history,
these are some words I recently learned
Your heritage isn't insignificant, or just a 'cool fact',
these are some words I wish I'd known
We are so much more than 'small islands' (but I didn't learn that),
these are some words I wish I'd known
"It's not your fault you didn't learn your language",
these are some words that I cherish
You are not 'broken' if you struggle to learn your language,
these are some words everyone should know.
Lea Fakatonga, Gagana Samoa.
I don't know my languages well, sometimes I'm scared I never will
But when I do learn new words in my language, it's the most indescribable thrill
And our languages are strong, intricate, magical creatures; but there's work to be done still
Until they are all thriving and no longer threatened -
All thriving, and no longer threatened.
I hope that we work until
Those are some words that I know.