Tuvalu Language Week 2023
This year’s theme for Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week – is Fakatumau kae fakaakoi tau ‘gana ke mautu a iloga o ‘ta tuā which means ‘preserve and embrace your language to safeguard our heritage identities’.
‘Preserving’ the Tuvalu language is a call to action to maintain the vibrant language. To ‘embrace’ Tuvalu language is to cherish its value. To ‘safeguard’ the language means that it is protected to ensure it can be used for generations. The Tuvalu ‘heritage identities’ are about the important ancestral heirlooms and culture, which can be passed on through the language.
AUT Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) student, Freda Alefaio, was only three years old when she left Tuvalu to come and live in New Zealand. She says, “Keeping my language alive today is very important because, without a cultural background, I feel as though I have no sense of belonging.
“I grew up speaking Tuvalu at home, which I’ve always been grateful for as I haven’t lost my native tongue amidst constantly speaking English at school, work and social places. Now that I have children, I try to implement the importance of speaking the Tuvalu language by speaking to them daily through basic words and saying grace.”
Freida shares her language learning journey for Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu | Tuvalu Language Week, in the sixth instalment of the University’s Pacific language video series for 2023 below.
The theme for the Pacific Language Weeks 2023 is sustainability, and AUT’s videos are a celebration of the power of language and culture featuring our alumni who are sharing their experiences and journey with sustaining their Pacific heritage language.
The videos feature a diverse range of alumni, from business leaders to educators, community leaders and more, who are all passionate about sustaining languages for future generations.
Through their stories, it will be evident the many ways in which language is a vital component of cultural identity and the ways our alumni have implemented it into their daily lives.
Tuvalu greetings and other resources for Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu | Tuvalu Language Week, including email signatures and printable posters, are available on the website of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
Release dates
To watch each video in the 2023 AUT Pacific language video series as they are launched, follow the Pacific at AUT Facebook page or watch on YouTube.
- Fijian Language Week: Sunday 8 October – Saturday 14 October 2023
- Niue Language Week: Sunday 15 October – Saturday 21 October 2023
- Tokelau Language Week: Sunday 22 October – Saturday 28 October 2023