NCEA Level 2 Samoan cheat sheet

Two features carry meaning at sound level, not just spelling: the glottal stop (koma liliu, written ʻ) and vowel length (fa'amamafa, marked with a macron). Minimal pairs to hear: fa'i (banana) vs fai (to do); tama (child) vs tamā (father); 'ava (kava) vs ava (passage, opening).

Tense is carried by the particle immediately before the verb, so listen for it first: sa = past, ua = completed/present state, e = future or habitual, o lo'o = happening now, ā = about to happen, na = past narrative.

Clause order is predicate-first (verb–subject–object). Sā alu le tama i le fale = the boy went to the house. A noun fronted by 'o is being emphasised or set as topic, not made the subject: 'O le tamaloa, ua sau.

Number is often marked on the verb, not the noun: sau (one comes) / ō mai (several come); alu / ō (go); tū / tutū (stand); savali / sāvavali (walk); nofo / nonofo (sit); 'ai / 'a'ai (eat). Hearing the plural form tells you how many actors are involved.

Negation cues: lē sits before the verb (E lē sau = will not come; Sā lē sau = did not come), while leai signals absence or 'no' (Leai se pese = there is no song; Leai = no).

Question words identify what an item is asking for: O ai (who), O le ā (what), O fea (where), ānafea (when), aiseā (why), fa'apefea (how), e fia (how many), e to'a fia (how many people).

Reverential vocabulary (upu fa'aaloalo) signals a formal context and tells you who is being discussed: 'ai → taumafa (eat), sau → susū mai (come), va'ai → silasila (look), tautala → fetalai (speak), oti → maliu (die).

Sequencing words mark the order of events in a spoken account: 'ona ... ai (then, so), ina ua (when, past), a'o (while), ae (but), mulimuli ane (afterwards), i le taimi lava lea (at that very moment).

Greeting and closing formulas are fixed: Tālofa lava (hello), Mālō (casual hello/well done), Fa'afetai (thank you), Fa'amolemole (please), Tulou (excuse me / apology when passing or interrupting), Tōfā soifua (goodbye), Soifua (reply to a farewell).

Terms of address set the register: lau afioga (high chief), lau tofa (chief), lau susuga (orator or honoured guest), lau faia'oga (teacher). Using a plain 'oe to a titled elder is a register error.

Possessives split into a-class and o-class. A-class: things controlled or owned - la'u tusi (my book), la'u mea'ai (my food), la'u galuega (my work). O-class: kin, body parts, houses, land, feelings - lo'u tamā, lo'u lima, lo'u fale, lo'u loto.

First-person pronouns distinguish inclusive and exclusive: tāua (we two, listener included) / māua (we two, listener excluded); tātou (we all, included) / mātou (we, excluded). Switching them changes who is said to be involved.

Plural address: 'oulua and lua for exactly two people; 'outou and tou for three or more. Using 'oe or ia for a group is grammatically wrong.

Opinion and reaction frames for interaction tasks: Ou te manatu... (I think), I lo'u manatu... (in my opinion), Ou te fiafia i... (I like), E sili atu... (it is better), Ioe, e sa'o (yes, that is correct), E lē sa'o (that is not correct).

Repair phrases keep an interaction going: Fa'amolemole, toe fai mai (please say that again), Tulou, e te mālamalama? (excuse me, do you understand?), Ua mālamalama (understood).

Identification replies require 'o before the noun: O ai lea? → O Siaki. O le ā lena? → O se tusi. O fea lou nu'u? → O le nu'u o ... Dropping 'o makes the reply ungrammatical.

Long vowels are held roughly twice as long as short ones and the glottal stop is a clean break; tamā versus tama and fa'i versus fai are different words, so length and glottal stops must be produced, not smoothed away.

Articles: le = definite singular (the); se = indefinite or nonspecific (a, some, any); ni = nonspecific plural; the definite plural takes no article (Ua ō mai tagata = the people are coming).

'O precedes proper nouns and fronted topics: 'O lo'u igoa o Mele (my name is Mele); 'O le ā lena? (what is that?); 'O le fale, ua paepae (as for the house, it is finished).

Transitive clauses mark the doer with the ergative e and leave the thing acted on unmarked or with i: Na faia e Mele le 'ato (the basket was made by Mele); Na 'ai e le tama le falaoa (the boy ate the bread).

Prepositions to sort quickly: i (in, at, to a place or thing), iā (to or for a person), mai (from), mō (for, purpose), ma / mā (with), o (of, before nouns), a (of, a-class possession).

Word-building clues for unfamiliar vocabulary: fa'a- is causative (malosi strong → fa'amalosi strengthen; fa'a Samoa = in the Samoan way); fe- plus -'i is reciprocal (fe'alofa'i greet each other; fesoasoani help one another); -ga makes nouns (nofo → nofoaga place to stay; tausi → tausiga care); reduplication marks plurality or intensity (savali → sāvavali).

Numbers: tasi, lua, tolu, fā, lima, ono, fitu, valu, iva, sefulu. Tens add the unit (sefulu lima = 15), hundreds use selau, and people are counted with to'a (e to'a lima tagata = five people). Ordinals: muamua (first), lona lua (second).

Cultural referents that recur in Level 2 texts: 'aiga (extended family), matai (titled head), nu'u (village), fono (council of matai), tautua (service), lotu (church), 'ava (ceremonial drink), 'ie toga (fine mat).

Fa'alavelave is a family ceremonial occasion or obligation - funeral, wedding, title bestowal - at which 'ie toga and food are exchanged; in a reading passage it usually does not mean simply 'trouble'.

Proverbs (muagagana, alagaupu) are introduced by formulas such as Fai mai le muagagana... and carry the point of a paragraph; e.g. O le ala i le pule o le tautua (the path to authority is service).

Basic sentence frame: tense particle + verb + subject + object/oblique. Sā alu le tama i le fale; Ua sau le teine; E fai le galuega a taeao. Keep the particle directly before the verb.

Transitive sentences need the ergative e on the doer: Na faia e Mele le 'ato (not Na faia Mele le 'ato). Human recipients take iā: Na ou avatu le tusi iā Tevita.

Negation set: E lē + verb (future/habitual), Sā lē + verb (past), Ua lē + verb (state), Leai se + noun (there is no ...), E lē o se + noun (is not a ...).

Cohesion devices for paragraphs: 'ona ... ai (then, so), ina ua (when), a'o (while), ae (but), auā (because), ma (and, with), fo'i (also), lava (indeed, very), pea (still, continuing), o le mea lea (therefore).

Structure markers: ulutala (title/heading), fa'ai'uga (ending/conclusion). A tala states its subject early, develops it in sequence, and closes with a comment or evaluation.

Text-type features to match the task: tala (narrative with sequenced events), tusi (letter with iā + addressee, salutation, purpose, closing), lipoti (report with factual description), fa'asilasilaga (notice: what, where, when), fa'asalalauga (advertisement: persuasive appeal).

Formal letter frame: iā [addressee] → Lau afioga / Lau susuga → body → Fa'afetai → Tōfā soifua → signature/name. Reverential vocabulary (taumafa, susū mai, silasila, fetalai, maliu) belongs in letters to titled elders.

Orthography in formal writing: capitalise sentence openings and proper nouns; mark long vowels with macrons (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and the glottal stop with ʻ. Omitting them changes words (tama/tamā, fa'i/fai) and lowers accuracy.

Numbers and quantities in writing: tasi, lua, tolu, fā, lima, ono, fitu, valu, iva, sefulu; sefulu tasi = 11; selau = 100; people take to'a (e to'a tolusefulu tamaiti = thirty children).