Conversational Tongan : a study of contractions in spoken Tongan /
by Topukie Faka'osikato.
- xi, 40 pages : illustrations ; 30 cm
Title from cover. "Retired art instructor Semisi Malungahu donated all the sketches. The author donated the photos."
About the author -- Preface -- Our language journey -- Introduction -- Lesson 1. Shortening of 'Oku -- Lesson 2. Shortening of perfect-tense marker Kuo to Ku -- Lesson 3. More shortening of' 'Oku to Ku -- Lesson 4. Shortening of Na'a to Na -- Lesson 5. The past-perfect tense Ne -- Lesson 6. Ne as a shortened form of the past-tense marker Na'e -- Lesson 7. Unraveling the spoken Ka -- Lesson 8. Unraveling the conjunction Pea (And) -- Lesson 9. More contracted words and tips -- Lesson 10. Possessive pronoun class 'Eku and Hoku (My) -- Lesson 11. Miscellaneous -- Appendix. Charts.
The book covers some casual and informal contractions, called tenpro words, and reveals differences between spoken and written Tongan. Contractions are frequently used in English, irrespective of social status, and are taught early in language education. However, in Tongan, contractions are deemed unsuitable for writing and language education. ... In Tongan, transcribing spoken contractions and formal writing is considered unacceptable, However, it is increasingly interesting that many of today's native Tongans transcribe spoken contractions on social media. They have developed new phonetical text styles that shorten lengthy formal writing and include undocumented vocabularies and acronyms. ... This book can help students understand natives' contractions in casual daily conversation, including formal writing. Learners can use Conversational Tongan alongside other language books to become fluent in Tongan"--Introduction.
Text in English and Tongan (Tonga Islands).
Tongan language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers. Tongan language--Grammar--Study and teaching. Tongan language--Variation--Study and teaching.