Analysis – Former Secretary to the Cabinet Aholotu Palu’s Tonganising of key English terms during his presentation in last week’s national summit struck a chord among those concerned about the imminent threat to the Tongan language.
The four-day summit was titled, ‘A Resilient Tonga through Transformative Action: Safeguarding Our Heritage’.
Led by the Prime Minister, the summit opened a dialogue between government and civil society, inviting tough questions and revealing reports on service delivery failures, governance weaknesses and needed reforms.
Palu, who is now the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) chief executive, was presenting his paper about various international funding that Tonga could tap into. He used his own translated terms during his presentation, such as “lōkale” for local, “lisinale” for regional, and “kolōpale” for global.
While Palu’s Tonganisation demonstration may not have been among the summit’s planned themes, its significance cut through sharply: in a forum dominated by English presentations to a predominantly Tongan audience, his deliberate use of lea faka-Tonga became an act of quiet defiance – proving our language can and should be the medium for discussing our nation’s future
This pattern runs deeper than a single summit. Repeatedly, at gatherings by Tongans, for Tongans—whether debating national development or preserving cultural heritage—we default to English or fractured code-switching.
The unspoken assumption is clear: that our language cannot bear the weight of our most critical conversations. Yet history proves otherwise—from the 19th century’s Tohi Tapu (Holy Bible translation) to Palu’s lōkale, Tongan has always expanded to meet new challenges when given the chance.
Palu’s intervention exposed this paradox: we fear Tongan’s extinction yet deny it the oxygen of official use.
He reminds us of a fundamental truth that translation has always been the lifeblood of lea faka-Tonga.
Anglicisation
There is growing recognition that Tongan has become increasingly anglicised in public discourse, particularly among most of the people who frequently code-switch between English and Tongan both in official and grassroot settings on daily basis.
The erosion reaches even our most intimate daily rituals. Where Tongan households once spoke naturally of kai pongipongi at dawn, kai ho‘atā under the midday sun, and kai efiafi as evening fell, we now default to the clinical English triad: breakfast, lunch, dinner. This linguistic surrender at the dining table mirrors a deeper displacement – when we cannot sustain conversation about basic nourishment in our own tongue, how shall we articulate the soul of our nation?
This code-switching, once occasional, has become so routine it barely draws notice, yet it speaks volumes about the quiet erosion of Tongan as a language of authority.
Tongan language threats
For decades, linguists like Japanese Professor Yuko Otsuka have raised urgent warnings: the Tongan language, spoken by just 200,000 people worldwide, is drifting toward endangerment as English becomes the dominant language of economic opportunity and global mobility.
This shift has been further solidified by the Tongan government’s decision to adopt English as an official language for official communications. This decision is based on the assertion that the limitations of the Tongan language could hinder clear messaging and lead to delays in the timely dissemination of important information.
These are just a few situations that further reinforce the notion that our language is inadequate.
The simple fix
As fears grow over the potential extinction of the Tongan language, we overlook a readily available solution embedded in our own history: the proven translation methodologies pioneered by early missionaries and educators—methods still in use today.
Kaniva News’ two decades of experience translating English news into Tongan have led us to estimate that 30-40% of modern Tongan vocabulary consists of adapted English terms. From mīsini (machine) to toketā (doctor), lao (law), and tiuta (tutor), these thousands of translated words now form the invisible backbone of how we discuss national development, often used unconsciously by speakers.
This reveals a powerful truth: translation isn’t just a linguistic act—it’s a survival strategy. The path forward isn’t to resist English but to systematise what our ancestors began: a sustained, well-resourced campaign to Tonganise modern vocabulary, ensuring lea faka-Tonga remains a living language, not a museum piece.
Government intervention
However, the challenge of Tonganisation demands more than borrowed words; it requires skilled linguists, literary scholars and cultural experts to craft terms that feel authentically Tongan rather than makeshift transplants.
The lack of systematic, professional translation efforts may explain why code-switching has become the default—it’s easier to insert English terms than to coin Tongan equivalents that stick.
This is where government intervention will be required. It needs to invest in dedicated translation initiatives and implementing concrete measures like including compulsory translation subject in school curriculum. The government must also reconsider its current English communication polices where English is the official language.
Colonial-era language policies that prohibited lea faka-Tonga in schools like Tonga High School—privileging English as the sole language of education—require fundamental reform. In 21st-century Tonga, we need bilingual policies that actively develop academic Tongan alongside English rather than treating our mother tongue as an obstacle to learning.
Translation frameworks
The first major translation in Tonga’s history was the Tongan Holy Bible in the late 1800s. Every name of people and places in it—from Sīsū Kalaisi (Jesus Christ) to Nasaleti (Nazareth)—has been directly adapted from English into Tongan. These transliterations have gone beyond the range of the scripture, embedding themselves deeply into Tongan culture as personal names used by the people, such as Mele for Mary and Selusalema for Jerusalem.
Below are several examples of these translation frameworks in the existing literature.
Adaptive translation
It is the process of making significant changes to a text to accommodate the cultural, social, or situational context of the target audience. One notable example is Rev Dr James Eagan Moulton’s translation of the hymn Rock of Ages.
Here is how he did it:
The first and second lines read – Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee. He translated these lines as Ava ‘o e makatu‘u, tuku ke u hūfanga atu. When contextually translated back into English, it can be interpreted as a rock in the ground (makatu‘u) with open holes (ava). The term makatu‘u also figuratively denotes a steadfast person. Dr Moulton compared the Tongan context of ava ‘o e makatu‘u as symbolically equivalent to Jesus’ with his five holy wounds suffered during the crucifixion, culminating in his pierced hands, feet, and side.
Transliteration translation
Another word for this type of translation is phonetic borrowing, or converting a word from English to Tongan by matching its sound. For example, Christmas is translated as Kilimasi, while the word “man of war” is translated as manuao.
Cultural Adaptation
Another word for this approach is contextual translation—rendering concepts through cultural practices rather than literal meanings. A striking example is using the word tu‘asila, which is Tongan for residential address. It emerges from the historical practice of writing addresses on the back of envelopes. Tu‘asila is formed by two words —tu‘a (back) + sila (seal).
The term tu‘asila finds its roots in Tonga’s pre-digital past, when senders traditionally wrote mailing details on the reverse flap of envelopes that folded inward to seal the letter.
Loanword hybridisation
It refers to the practice in which translators blend a borrowed or adapted foreign term with a native word to form a new phrase.
For example, the word policy is mostly translated as palani ngāue. Palani was adapted from English word plan while ngāue is a native Tongan word that means work. Another word is ‘Otu Felenite. It is a combination of the Indigenous word ‘otu, meaning a long group of islands, while felenite refers to the English word friendly. It is Tongan for the Friendly Islands.
We must act now towards the next ten years, ahead of the upcoming summit in 2035, to ensure the vitality of our linguistic heritage. Tonga’s 10-year plan must make lea fakaTonga the skeleton of development, not just decorative flesh.
There is a saying that links development to language, adapted from Kenyan scholar Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o that says, “A nation’s development is measured by the vitality of its language.”
