Page Type: languageTongan | Ethnologue

TON ISO 639-3

Tongan

Faka Tonga Autonym

A language of Tonga

ISO 639
ton
Alternate Names
Tonga
Autonym
Faka Tonga
Population
106,000 in Tonga (2017). Total users in all countries: 189,740.
Language Status
1 (National). De facto national language, considered co-official with English [eng].
Classification
Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Tongic
Dialects
Reportedly similar to Niue [niu]. Slight dialect differences north to south. Lexical similarity: 86% with Wallisian [wls], 66% with Samoan [smo].
Typology
VSO.
Language Use
Ethnic group predominantly monolingual in Tongan (1997 J. Siegel).
Language Development
Newspapers. Radio. Dictionary. Bible: 1862–1966.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Tongan
Writing
Latin script [Latn].

Also Spoken in

Language Name
Tongan
User Population
1,510 in American Samoa (2010 World Factbook).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
View other languages of American Samoa
Language Name
Tongan
User Population
17,700 in Australia (2016 census).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
View other languages of Australia
Language Name
Tongan
User Population
1,330 in Fiji (2017).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
View other languages of Fiji
Language Name
Tongan
User Population
31,800 in New Zealand (2013 census).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
View other languages of New Zealand
Language Name
Tongan
User Population
31,400 in United States (2015 census).
Location
Hawaii; California: Los Angeles, San Francisco; Oklahoma: Oklahoma City.
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
View other languages of United States

Map