Samoan Family: Austronesian (Subfamiliy: Eastern Malayo-Polynesian) Country

Samoan

Family: Austronesian (Subfamiliy: Eastern Malayo-Polynesian)

Country: American Samoa, Samoa

Population: 369,957

Source: Ethnologue (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=swh), WALS (http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_swa)

Features

Type: agglutinative

(http://mmm.lingue.unibo.it/mmm-proc/MMM4/143-156-Grandi-Montermini-MMM4.pdf)

Word order: Order of Subject, Object and Verb:

VSO: Sa alu le teine i le fale.; sa alu (verb), teine (subject), fale (object).

went-girl-house.

VOS: Sa alu i le fale le teine.

went-house-girl.

OVS: Le fale sa alu i ai le teine.

house-went-girl.

SVO: Le teine sa alu i le fale.

girl-went-house.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoan_language#Syllables, last visit: 12.01.2011)

Order of Subject and Verb: VS

Formularbeginn

Formularende

Order of Object and Verb: VO

Article system

Definite Article: Definite word distinct from demonstrative: le

Indefinite Article: Indefinite words distinct from 'one': le, se, ni

a) non-specific indefinite articles: se, ni
“The non-specific indefinite article se indicates, that the NP refers to every member of the conceptual category which the head noun and its adjuncts denote:
(166) ‘Au=mai se niu!

Take=DIR ART(nsp.sg) coconut

‘Bring me a coconut [no matter wich one]!’ (M&H: 261)
The non-specific indefinite plural article ni indicates that the expression refers to particular, less specified entities. (ibid.: 216)
(167) ‘Au=mai ni niu!

Take=DIR ART(nsp.pl) coconut

‘Bring me some coconuts! [no matter wich ones and how many]’

(M&H: 261)

Mosel und Hovdhaugen (1992) show that the specific indefinite article le and his non-specific counterpart se are used in Samoan irrespective of the state of definiteness or indefiniteness of the NP. The category specificity is firmly anchored in Samoan, because it has not only the above mentioned articles but also diminutive specific articles.”

(translated from Venneri (2009:68))

b) specific indefinite article: le

“According to Mosel & Hovdhaugen specific indefinite article le shows that the NP refers to a particular entity possibly being definite or indefinite or it may refer to a whole class which the head noun denotes.”

(translated from Venneri (2009:65))

The internet on Samoan article system

le: The article le is both definite and indefinite; at least as it is constantly used in Samoan, whereas the English would require the indefinite article; definite e.g., ´o le Atua, God; indefinite e.g., ´o le ali´i Pai, such as “one is a chief”. On looking into such cases, it will be found that there is something definite, from a Samoan standpoint, which makes them use le rather than se, as Ua tu mai le va´a “a canoe appears”. The article is omitted before plural nouns, thus, ´O le tagata “the man”; ´O tagata “men”.

se: se is always indefinite; ta mai se la´au “cut me a stick”.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoan_language#Syllables, last visit: 12.01.2011)

le/se: The indefinite article se is much more restricted in its use than the English a or an. When the idea is definite in the speaker's mind, the le is used; as Sa i le nu´u o Usa le tasi tagata “There was in the land of Uz a certain man”. Only when the object is entirely indefinite, answering to any, is se used; as ´Ou futia se i´a, se lautua “I will draw up a fish, one from outside the reef”.

(http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-PraDict-c1-4.html, last visit: 12.01.2011)

Word Order Article and Noun: prenominal? (no references found; but all data is pn)

Order of Demonstrative and Noun: Mixed

Order of Numeral and Noun: Noun-Numeral
Grammaticalisation
The etymology of the articles in Samoan has not been discussed in literature yet. It is unknown if the specific article evolved from demonstratives like definites, if the non-specific article evolved from the numeral „one“, or if they evolved differently. Apparently the modern form of the non-specific article does not correspond to the form of the modern Samoan numeral tase “one”.

(translated from Venneri (2009:67))

References
Particular sources on specificity

• 
  Ionin, Tania: "this" is definitely specific : specificity and definiteness in article systems. In: Natural language semantics 14 2006, 2, 175-234
  
• 
  Ionin, Tania; Ko, Heejeong; Wexler, Kenneth. Article semantics in L2 acquisition : the role of specificity. In: Language acquisition 12 2004, 1, 3-69
  
• 
  Lyons about definiteness. References to specificity and Samoan.
  

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=105715425

• 
  Mosel, Ulrike. Samoan reference grammar. London [u.a.] : Scandinavian Univ. Press, 1992 (Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning. Ser. B, Skrifter;85)
  

detailed information about the article system & about the specific & the non-specific article

• 
  Venneri, Diana Katarzyna (2009). Artikelsysteme zum Ausdruck von Spezifität am Beispiel von Maori, Marokkanisch, Usbekisch und Samoanisch. Stuttgart: Magisterarbeit.
  

Grammar

• 
  Marsack, C. C. Samoan - a complete introductory course. 1975. Hodder and Stoughton.
  
• 
  Mosel, Ulrike. Samoan reference grammar. London [u.a.] : Scandinavian Univ. Press, 1992 (Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning. Ser. B, Skrifter;85)
  
• 
  Pratt, George . A grammar and dictionary of the Samoan language : with English and Samoan vocabulary. 3. ed. publ. in 1893 [Repr.] - Papakura : McMillan, 1984
  
• 
  Pratt, George . Pratt's grammar & dictionary of the Samoan language. 4. ed., rev. and enl. / by J. E. Newell - Malua : London Miss. Soc., 1911
  

Miscellaneous

• 
  A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, with English and Samoan vocabulary
  

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-PraDict.html

• 
  Vonen, Arnfinn M. The noun phrase in Samoan and Tokelauan. Oslo: Hovedoppgave i Lingvistik, Univ., 1988
  
• 
  Talk of Tania Ionin on Exposure type doesn’t matter: Similar patterns of English article use among ESL and EFL learners with references to Samoan and specificity
  

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/tionin/www/MyDownloads/Yang%20&%20Ionin%20Galana%20paper.pdf