Vagahau Niue L6: Example 2
Example 2: Niue holiday
Fakaalofa Atu.
Ko fē a koe ma Misi? Galo ai pihia?
Amanaki ni kua malolō a koe. Malolō a mautolu he faahi e. Mitaki hā ia he pogipogi nei. Logona mai, ko e makalili lahi a Niu Silani. Tō maveka e tau amaamanakiaga ma meti.
Amanaki a mautolu ke o ke evaeva ke he Show Day ha Hakupu Atua. Fiafia lahi ha ko e o hake ha ne fai ke kitekite e tau fakatātā gahua lima fuluola he tau mamatua. Mitaki lahi e tau pulou ha Aunty Mele. Liga to mua ni a Aunty Mele he veveheaga pulou.
Ko e o fai a mautolu ke fakatau kai ke lata mo e kai afiafi. Kua hea mai tai a Aunty Mele ke o age a afiafi ke kai auloa he kaina haana ti kua mavehe tai mo e matua fifine haaku ke feleveia he hola lima. Kai fai he takihi mo e polo kāluku. Yum!
Ko e Aho Lotu he tapu ka hau ka tū ai e hogofulu e tau ha Sione. O fai a maua mo e matua fifine ke fakatau kai ke lata mo e aho fanau haana. Ko e keke haana, to tao mai ni e Aunty Mele. Kelea a nei he ai fai fale tao keke a nei.
Mavehe fai ka e fano ke fakakia e kaitunu neke vela.
To feleveia.
Cabrini
TOP
Context and text type
Cabrini, a learner of vagahau Niue, is on holiday with her family in Niue. She is writing to Misi, her New Zealand cousin who speaks vagahau Niue, describing events taking place in the coming week. Cabrini is looking forward to the Hakupu Show Day, getting ready for dinner at Aunty Mele’s house and planning a menu for her little brother Sione’s birthday party.
Text type
Email, informal. Productive.
TOP
Examples showing how the student is:
Communicating information, ideas, and opinions beyond the immediate context
Cabrini uses the implied future to express anticipation:
- O fai; Ke o age; To feleveia; ko e hake ha ne fai.
She uses formulaic expressions to communicate ideas, for example:
She makes a link to New Zealand, when she comments on the temperatures there:
- Logona mai, ko e ho emakalili lahi a Niu Silani.
She explains that her little brother Sione will celebrate his tenth birthday:
- Ko e Aho Lotu he tapu ka hau ka tū ai e hogofulu he tau tau ha Sione.
She describes the events that she will be participating in, for example:
- Amanaki a mautolu ke o ke evaeva ke he Show Day ha Hakupu Atua.
Cabrini uses the structure 'ko e' to imply action in the immediate future, for example:
- Ko e o fai ke fakatau kai; … ko e hake ha ne fai …
Expressing and responding to personal ideas and opinions
Cabrini expresses her opinion using descriptive terms:
- kelea ni; mitaki lahi; ai fiafia.
She uses subordinate clauses to give possible alternative outcomes:
- … neke vela; … ti kua mavehe tai mo e matua fifine …
She includes description when she gives her personal opinion of Aunty Mele:
- Mitaki lahi e tau pulou ha Aunty Mele; Tō maveka e tau amaamanakiaga.
Communicating appropriately in the situation
Cabrini’s use of greetings and salutations is appropriate in the context as they are conventionally associated with this text type:
- To feleveia. Ko fē a koe ma Misi? Galo ai pihia? Mavehe fai; (To feleveia).
Her style is informal, as seen in her use of the colloquial 'Galo ai pihia?' ('Long time, no see') and her casual use of the term 'meti' (Tō maveka e tau amaamanakiaga ma meti), signalling her close relationship with her cousin.
She shows 'loto totonu' (empathy) when she makes a link to New Zealand, and comments on the temperatures there, which Misi would be enduring:
- Logona mai, ko e makalili lahi a Niu Silani.
Understanding how language is organised for different purposes
Cabrini uses conventions appropriate to an email, for example, the formulaic greeting, Fakaalofa Atu, and ending, To feleveia.
The email is conversational in tone. For example:
- Mitaki hā ia he pogipogi nei. Kai fai he takihi mo e polo kaluku.
Cabrini uses the inclusive pronoun 'auloa' to give general information:
- Kua hea mai tai a Aunty Mele ke o age a afiafi ke kai auloa he kaina haana.
She uses the familiar 'meti', a transliteration of the English 'mate', which illustrates the nature of their relationship.
She shows her knowledge and understanding of vagahau Niue when she uses the singular and plural forms of verbs, depending on whether one or more persons is involved; for example:
- fano (singular) o; o age; o fai; o hake (more than one person).
Note that Cabrini uses the English word 'Aunty' in her email, despite the transliteration of 'anitī' being available in vagahau Niue. She also uses the expression, Yum! which is what students would write if writing in English.
Keke is a transliteration of the English 'cake':
- Ko e keke haana to tao mai e Aunty Mele.
TOP
Opportunities for developing intercultural communicative competence
Students could explore examples of vagahau Niue in informal written texts, noting especially greetings and how these texts are sustained and ended. Text types could include e-mails, letters, notes, social networking entries, captions for photos.
Students could then compare these examples with equivalent texts in English and in other languages and cultures known to class members. What similarities and differences do they notice?
Students could explore how relatives are addressed or talked about. This can differ within a culture, even from family to family.
How would students express their feelings in vagahau Niue. Would they say 'yum'? Or are there other expressions, such as Ē! that they could learn and use, or just making a sound like 'mmm' when tasting the food?
Birthday cakes are a cultural practice, one that is not traditionally associated with aga fakamotu. This illustrates the dynamic nature of cultures: how they adapt and change over time as a result of contact with other cultures. Students could think of other examples of this dynamic at work.
Last updated January 16, 2013
TOP
