Beautiful Samoan Words… that make great baby names too!

My Receipts

I am a student of linguistics who’s a little bit obsessed with the semantics and pragmatics of the Samoan language.

This post is a product of several conversations with my mother, who used to run a Samoan language newspaper and is currently a professional Samoan translator, plus a trio of Samoan-born cousins. One of these cousins is currently serving as the main tulafale in our family, and it was he who first introduced me to the phrase anava tau.

I also used the following resources to check facts and dig up a little more information about some of my favourite Samoan words:

Nifo’oti (cane knife) | Collections, Te Papa Museum

The Fire Knife Dance: The Story behind the Flames Ta’alolo to Nifo’oti, by le afioga ia Pulefanolefolasa F Galea’i

A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, by George Pratt