Sustaining the Tuvaluan language, both on home soil and in New Zealand, has never been more important as climate change looms over the small island nation. New Zealand celebrates the start of Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu or Tuvalu Language Week on Sunday, with the theme Fakamautu ke mautakitaki te gagana Tuvalu mo te atafai, fakaaloalo mo te amanaiagina. The Tuvalu language is categorised as “definitely endangered” on the Unesco List of Endangered Languages, with only about 11,000 speakers in the world. Sio said the importance of sustaining te gana Tuvalu is heightened by the unique challenges the planet’s fourth-smallest nation faces with climate change. Tuvalu Language Week starts on Sunday and ends on October 1, the nation’s Independence Day.

Source: Daily Nation September 24, 2022 16:05 UTC