What are the Wallis & Futuna Languages?

For those of you who like a bit of context, Wallisian (is) is part of a Polynesian branch of the huge Austronesian family of languages. Its closest relative languages are Futunan, Niuafoʻou, Tongan, Samoan and other Samoic languages.

The language has borrowed extensively from Tongan due to the Tongan invasion of the island in the 15th and 16th centuries, and it also has borrowed a lot of vocabulary from French due to French colonial influence.

Wallisian was first documented by French missionaries during the early 19th century, although their work wasn't published until 1932. A Wallisian translation of a prayer book was published in 1864, and parts of the Bible in Wallisian were published in 1885.

ʻUvea was settled about 3,000 years ago, making it one of the early Polynesian settlements in the region.

Learn more about the Wallisian culture in A Traveller's Guide to the Wallisian and Futunan Cultures LINK#TT057.

Meanwhile, on Futuna, you'll discover that the local language, Fakafutuna (or Futunan) is a melodious tongue that belongs to about 3,000 speakers spread across the kingdoms of Sigave and Alo on Futuna and Alofi islands.

Like Wallisian, it belongs to the Austronesian language family, specifically within the Polynesian subgroup. It is closely related to other Western Polynesian languages like Wallisian, Samoan and Tongan.

What makes Futunan particularly intriguing is its resilience. Despite being part of a French territory, the language remained remarkably protected from European linguistic influence until around the Second World War.

Today, you'll find that locals primarily use Futunan in their daily conversations, only switching to French when interacting with European visitors or in educational settings.

The first thing to know about pronunciations in Wallisian and Futunan is that both languages use relatively simple alphabets with clear pronunciation patterns. These Polynesian languages have distinct phonological systems that differ from English in several key ways.

How to Pronounce Consonants in Wallisian and Futunan

Both Wallisian and Futunan share similar consonant systems, though there are some differences:

• F - pronounced as in English "fish"
• G - represents the nasal velar consonant [ŋ] in Futunan orthography (like "ng" in English "sing")
• K - pronounced as in English "king"
• L - pronounced as in English "love"
• M - pronounced as in English "mother"
• N - pronounced as in English "never"
• P - pronounced as in English "people"
• S - pronounced as in English "sun"
• T - pronounced as in English "table"
• V - pronounced as in English "village"
• ʻ (fakamoga) - represents the glottal stop, similar to the break in "uh-oh"

How to Pronounce Vowels in Wallisian and Futunan

Wallisian has 10 vowels: five standard vowels and their lengthened variants. Futunan has five vowels that can be short or long:

• A/Ā - short "a" as in "father"; long "ā" held for twice the duration
• E/Ē - short "e" as in "bed"; long "ē" held for twice the duration
• I/Ī - short "i" as in "machine"; long "ī" held for twice the duration
• O/Ō - short "o" as in "for"; long "ō" held for twice the duration
• U/Ū - short "u" as in "food"; long "ū" held for twice the duration

Long vowels are marked with a macron (the line above the vowel) but aren't always written in casual text.

Word Stress in Wallisian and Futunan

Both languages follow typical Polynesian stress patterns, generally placing stress on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable of words. For example:

• tagata (man) is pronounced "ta-GA-ta" in Wallisian
• fakamoga (glottal stop) is pronounced "fa-ka-MO-ga" in Wallisian

Special Pronunciation Notes

There are several unique aspects to Wallisian and Futunan pronunciation:

The fakamoga (ʻ) can be written with different apostrophe styles but represents the same glottal stop sound.

In Futunan, the letter "g" represents the [ŋ] sound, unlike other Polynesian languages where it's written as "ng" (for example, Tongan tangata versus Futunan tagata).

Vowel length is phonologically important - changing a short vowel to a long one can change the meaning of a word entirely.

Whilst most tourism and hospitality professionals speak English, the general population relies primarily on their native tongues and French. With that in mind, efforts to speak the local languages are not only appreciated but, for native English speakers, could help make life easier when visiting Wallis and Futuna.

Here are some words and phrases to try out…

Basic Phrases in Wallisian and Futunan

• Hello – Bonjour (French) / Mālo (Wallisian) / Mālo (Futunan)
• Yes – Oui (French) / Ei (Wallisian) / Eio (Futunan)
• No – Non (French) / Oho (Wallisian) / Eai (Futunan)
• Please – S'il vous plaît (French) / Fakalelei siou loto (Wallisian) / Fakamalie lou loto (Futunan)
• Thank you very much – Merci beaucoup (French) / Mālō tou ofa (Wallisian) / Mālō le alofa (Futunan)
• Bye – Goodbye (English) / Au revoir (French) / Nofola/Alula/Tata (Wallisian) / Nofola/Anola/Tata (Futunan)
• How are you? – Comment vas-tu? (French) / Eke lelei pe? (Wallisian) / Eke malie fai? (Futunan)
• I am good, thanks – Ça va bien, merci (French) / E au lelei, mālō (Wallisian)
• My name is... – Je m'appelle... (French) / E au higoa ko... (Wallisian)
• How much does it cost? – Combien ça coûte? (French) / E totogi fia? (Wallisian) / E fia lona totogi? (Futunan)

Places

• Beach –
• House –
• Church –
• Sea –
• Reef –
• River –
• Mountain –
• Island –
• Village –

Food and Drink

• Fish –
• Octopus –
• Meat –
• Chicken –
• Pork –
• Fruit –
• Taro –
• Breadfruit –
• Water –
• Coffee –
• Tea –
• Liquor –
• Milk –
• Wine –

Now that you know the important words, check out how to say some iconic Wallis and Futuna meals in Traditional Wallis and Futuna Food: Local Dishes to Try LINK#TTD044.