Yearly Archives: 2013

Tongan Letter L: Printable Activity

Tongan Letter L Activity: Colour or craft!
Tongan Letter L Activity: Colour or craft!

SUIT: Preschool age. Here is another activity to keep your kids busy. My 2 pre-school boys are enjoying scribbling and colouring in pages at the moment. Mixed in with Ben 10 and Batman colouring in pages, I make sure to add in a Tongan Letter Activity.

When they are done it’s the fun bit for me, Newstime! Ongoongo! Let them tell you all about their picture in Tongan.

Tongan Children’s Song: Three blind mice

Tongan Childrens Song - 'a e fanga kumā the Tongan version of Three blind mice
Tongan Childrens Song – ‘a e fanga kumā The Tongan version of Three blind mice

Time for a Song! – Three blind mice in Tongan. This is a very popular song for Tongan kids and it is sung to the same tune.

It has nothing to do with the farmers wife who cut of their tails with a carving knife. This song is about the mice and a priest. See all those mice! Where are they running to? They are running after the Priest to eat his bread until each and every crumb is finished.

How to pronounce the Tongan vowels

How to pronounce the Tongan vowels

If your learning style is quite visual, then I hope this helps you. Any questions ask away, here or on facebook.

Lea faka-Tonga! Speak in Tongan!

Lea faka-Tonga

There is a rule in my house. Lea faka-Tonga!  For the most part my kids and I do speak in Tongan. But like most kids nowadays if they are not encouraged to speak the language they will not. My 7yo daughter was speaking Tongan regularly before primary (elementary) school but now has to be prompted. Hence Uncle Sam’s message. A friendly reminder to my kids and myself. ‘Oku ou fiema’u ko e ke ke lea faka-Tonga! I want YOU to speak in Tongan!

Print it out, laminate it, use it and share it.

Thanks for reading Hema 🙂

Celebrating all things Green – lanumata

St Patrickʼs day brings todayʼ theme: Colour Green, what can you see around you with the colour green. Ko e tau lēsoni ki he ʻahoʻni fekauʻaki mo e lanumatá. Ngaahi meʻa kehehe ʻoku lanumatá.

Celebrating everything Green.
Celebrating everything Green.

Practice questions and replies: Ngaahi fehuʻi mo e tali

  1. ʻOku lanu hā ʻa e meleni? What colour is the melon? ʻOku lanu mata ʻa e meleni! The melon is green.
  2. ʻOku lanu hā ʻa e poto? What colour is the frog? ʻOku lanu mata ʻa e poto! The frog is green.
  3. ʻOku lanu hā ʻa e ngata? What colour is the snake?ʻOku lanu mata ʻa e ngata! The snake is green.
  4. ʻOku lanu hā ʻa e musie? What colour is the grass? ʻOku lanu mata ʻa e musie! The grass is green!
  5. Fē ʻa e siaine mata? Where are the green bananas? (point to the picture above and say ko ē – there it is!)
  6. Fē ʻa e kalepi? Where are the grapes? ko ē
  7. Fē ʻa e ʻavoka? Where is the avocado? ko ē

Game: Tongan treasure hunt!

GAME: Are you ready to go treasure hunting. Use the Tongan alphabet, numbers and colours to find the treasure.
SUITABLE: Preschoolers, primary (elementary) kids. Beginners for Adults.

Game: treasure hunt for Tongan items
Game: treasure hunt for Tongan items

This is a fun game to play! Get out all your little nick nack toys, and get ready for some fun. This game can be simplified for preschoolers who are learning their colours and numbers. But it can also be made more challenging for older kids by combining colours, numbers, letters and timing them.

I saw this on one of the many kids activity blogs out there and then tried it using our Tongan language. This is by far the best game, according to my 7 year old. She rated it four stars out of five.

Tips for playing this game:

  1. For younger kids keep it simple. Use the option of 1-5 items max, for older kids you can go up to 10 items.
  2. Let your child direct the play. My girl could not find an item starting with ʻlʼ so she came up with the idea to draw the item being a ʻlaioneʼ lion.
  3. Be flexible. The word for many foreign things in Tongan start with meʻa (thing) like meʻa vaʻinga (toy) and meʻa faitā (camera).
  4. Stick to easier letters. Depending on your vocabulary skill level there will be some letters that will be challenging like ʻeʼ and ʻngʼ. I could not find an item for letter ʻeʼ so i got a yellow (engeenga) item.
  5. Have fun!

FOR BEGINNERS! Grab a bowl and collect an item each representing the Alphabet. Then use these items to play treasure hunt. Below are some items that you may have at home in the form of toys, fruits & vegetables and household items.

  • A – ʻĀpele, ʻAngelo, ʻAnga; Apple, Angel or Shark.
  • E – ʻElefānite, ʻĒpelikote, ʻĒpani; Elephant, Apricot, Apron
  • F – Fonu, filo, feke: Turtle, thread, Octapus
  • H – Hoosi, Hamala, Hele: Horse, Hammar, Knife
  • I – Ipu, Inu, Ika: Cup, Drink, Fish
  • K – Kā, Kūli, Kaloti: Car, Dog, Carrot
  • L – Lemani, Lolo, Laione: Lemon, Oil, Lion
  • M – Manupuna, Moli: Bird, Orange
  • N – Neesi, Nima: Nurse, Hand (of a doll)
  • NG – Ngeli, Ngata: Monkey, Snake
  • O – ʻOfa, ʻOtua, ʻOfefine: Love, God, Daughter (of a man)
  • P – Peleti, Pōlisi, Pūsi, Peni: Plate, Police, Cat, Pen
  • S – Sea, Sipaita, Sōtia: Chair, Spider, Soldier
  • T – Tamapua, Temata, Tohi, Toketā: Doll, Tomato, Book, Doctor
  • U – Ulu, Uasi, Uaine: Hair (from doll), watch, Wine
  • V – Vesa, Vaʻe, Vai, Vakapuna: Bracelet, Leg (from doll), water, plane.

I would love to hear how you guys went with playing this game. Rate it, give me some feedback, did you or your kids enjoy it as much as mine did?

Tongan seasons

Itʼs that time of year when the seasons change. Ko e faʻahitaʻu fē ʻeni? Which season is it?

Is it SPRING? (faʻahitaʻu) season of the blooms (matala) or
Is it FALL/ AUTUMN? (faʻahitaʻu) season of the falling leaves (tō – fall, lau – leaf)

seasons

Highest Respect for Tongan Women

Mehikitanga
Sesika Fifita as mehikitanga takes money gift presented by the dancer.
fahufatongia
Mehikitanga accepts her share of food presentation.

In Tongan society, the women or the sisters outrank the males or brothers in the family unit. Accordingly, the language used is one of respect. 

This value and respect the women’ rank is evident in cultural celebrations where the male or brother performs his duty to his paternal aunty and sisters. They are culturally elevated, and honoured fakalāngilangiʻi with presentations of food, gifts of money, fine mats and tapa. The language follows these cultural values where one’s ‘eiki or chiefly side of the family is always referred to with politeness and respect.

We are celebrating International Womenʼs Day with a vocabulary theme of words which describe women and their roles within the family.

  • ta’ahine (n) girl, lady. Also regal word for woman or chiefʼs daughter.
  • finemu’i (n) young girl not yet married
  • ‘ofefine (n) describes daughter of a man.
  • tuofefine (n) describes sister of a male
  • fefine (n) woman, girl (adj) female
  • fafine (n) (adj) plural. girl, women, females
  • faʻē (n) mother
  • mehikitanga (n) fathers sister, paternal aunt
  • fine’eiki (n) lady (polite) word for wife
  • finemotu’a (n) elderly woman, married woman. (derogatory) word for wife
  • kui fefine (n) grandmother

5 Tips learning Tongan for beginners

5 tips learning tongan

Here are 5 tips for those who want to learn Tongan as a foreign language or those wanting to improve their language skills. Learning Tongan does not have to be a chore. Follow these tips, and you will soon discover a beautiful rich language and culture.

  1. Immerse yourself. Ideally spending a good six months in the Kingdom would be the best place to learn Tongan. Otherwise immerse yourself within your local community (family, church, online) and simply LISTEN. Fanongo kihe u ngaahi lea. Listen to the sounds all around. With your family, at church, songs played on radio, programs on tv, or youtube. Listen for the sounds, the tone, the reflections in their voices. 
  2. Imitate. Remember how children first learn to speak. They copy the sounds they hear. Ma-ma, Te-Ti (Mum, Dad) are usually the first words they speak.
  3. Know key phrases. ‘Ikai mahino – I don’t understand. Koe ha ‘ae lea fakaTonga ki he … ? What is the Tongan word for …? Know some key phrases and words will help you learn quicker.
  4. Be a student.  Take notes and ask questions. Be inquisitive like a child. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. That is all part of the learning process. 
  5. Have FUN. Learning anything new is always easier when there is some fun involved.

Letter E: colouring in printable

Elephantcolourin

Colour in the picture printable for your kid. To print click on Letter E printable.

Letter E is the first in our series of colouring in pages for kids. These colouring in pages are fun and will help kids

  • recognise the Tongan alphabet
  • begin to associate the alphabet with Tongan words. 
  • begin to pronounce familiar words
  • learn different colour concepts in Tongan

If you found this printable page useful, then please share it with your family and friends. These pages are freely available for educational and personal use. Share your completed work with us on Facebook!