GOING FORWARD IN OUR VA’A – BUILDING ON THE PRESENT
Salainaoloa Wilson with Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop
FAGASA National Conference, Mangere College, Auckland – 19th-20th April, 2011
Wilson, S.L. (2010) Le Tofi Ne’i Valetuulima – Perceptions of Samoan Students, Teachers and Parents on the Place of the Samoan Language in New Zealand. Master’s Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1452/thesis.pdf?sequence=1
FOLASAGA
Ae lei momoliina atu se tapenaga e tusa ma le faamoemoe, e muamua ona ou faapoipoi la’au tu vanu na pa’u i matau ma taatia i le va o ama i o outou pa’ia ma o outou sa.
Le susu i le aufaigaluega pa’ia a le Atua ma outou faletua, afifio tupu ma tamalii a Samoa, alalata’i foi faleupolu o tōfiga, faletua ma tausi, ma le pa’ia lasilasi o Samoa ua potopoto.
Malo lava le soifua maua ma le lagi e mama.
Ae o le a taumafai la outou auauna vaivai e tusa ma le faamoemoe o lenei aso.
O le a ou talanoa atu e uiga i la’u su’esu’ega sa fai mo le faailoga o le Masters i mata’upu tau Pasefika mai le Iunivesite Aoao o Vitoria i Ueligitone. O le ulutala o lenei suesuega, o Le Tofi Nei Vale Tuulima – O manatu faaailia o tamaiti Samoa, faiaoga Samoa, ma matua Samoa i le tulaga o le gagana Samoa i totonu o Niu Sila i le taimi nei.
Soo se taimi lava ou te talanoa ai e uiga i le Gagana Samoa, ou te amata lava i upu na amata ai la’u thesis.
O le Gagana, o le suāu’u e ola ai le aganu’u.O le Gagana, o le tofi mai le Atua.
O le Gagana, o le ‘ula o fugālā’au manogi sasala, e teu ai lou talaaga.
O le ‘ā fola atu fugālā’au sa tau mai le faato’aga e su’i ai le ‘ula pe mata e aogā i faalagāmaea a Samoa, ina ia faatumauina le atuafetalai, o le tofi mai le Atua o lo’o faavae ai lona Mālō.
(Wilson 2010, p. 1)
The Samoan language is the oil which keeps the Samoan culture alive.
The Samoan language is a gift from God.
The Samoan language is a garland of fragrant flowers, which embodies our history. These are the flowers i have picked to make this garland which i hope will have use for the Samoan people, so that the Samoan language, the inheritance from God, will live on. (Wilson 2010, p. 1)
TAUTUANA LE TOFI NE’I VALETU’ULIMA
Na maua le ulutala o la’u suesuega i se tusitusiga a le afioga a le tama aiga Tuiatua Tamasese. O ‘upu apoapoa’i a lenei toe ulutaia o le atunuu, sa ia toe fagufagu mai ai le taua o le tofi. Faimai, a oo ina to le manava a le tagata Samoa, aemaise lava se tagata matua, o upu nei e tautala i ai:
“tautuanā ne’i vale tuulima le tofi” O le faavae lea o le tagata Samoa. Pe ola pe oti, e taua le tofi, aua e molimauina ele ola ma le oti le tofi. O le amataga ma le tulu’iga o le tofi, o le gagana, o le tu ma le aga, o le tala o le vavau, o le tala faasolopito, ma le fe’au e maua mai ai e faasinoala ma faatonutonu i le mafaufau ma le agaga (Tamasese, 2005a, p. 2)
