Here are some key rules to help determine if a word is not a Samoan word or name, based on the Samoan language’s linguistic patterns:
1. Forbidden Letter Combinations
Samoan does not use:
- “C”, “J”, “X”, “Z”, “H” (except in loanwords like “Hawaii”).
- “B”, “D”, “G”, “Q”, “Y” (unless in foreign names, e.g., “David” becomes “Tavita”).
- “K” is rare (mostly in loanwords like “keke” for “cake”).
2. Unusual Consonant Clusters
Samoan words cannot have:
- Two consonants together (e.g., “sport” → invalid; Samoan would say “sipoti”).
- Exceptions: “ng” (as in “ngo” for “mosquito”) and **”m” + vowel (e.g., “moa” = chicken).
3. Words Ending in a Consonant
- Samoan words always end in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).
- ❌ “truck” → ✅ “tulaka” (loanword adaptation).
- ❌ “fan” → ✅ “fana”.
4. Diphthong Rules
Samoan diphthongs are only:
- ai, ae, ao, au, ei, ia, ie, io, iu, oi, ou, ua, ue, ui, uo.
- ❌ “eu”, “oi” (in non-standard positions).
5. Stress & Syllable Patterns
- Stress usually falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable.
- ✅ “Tama” (TA-ma) = father.
- ❌ “TaMA” (incorrect stress).
6. Uncommon Vowel Sequences
- Avoid three+ vowels in a row (except in rare cases like “aai” = “cloud”).
- ❌ “iaue” → likely not Samoan.
7. Non-Samoan Prefixes/Suffixes
- Samoan does not use:
- “-tion”, “-ing”, “-ly” (English suffixes).
- “un-“, “re-“ (English prefixes).
8. Names Must Follow Samoan Phonetics
- Traditional Samoan names often:
- Start/end with vowels (e.g., “Leilani”, “Afa”).
- Use “f” instead of “ph” (❌ “Philip” → ✅ “Filipo”).
9. Loanwords Are Adapted
- Foreign words are modified to fit Samoan rules:
- “school” → “aʻoga” (not “skulu”).
- “bus” → “pasī”.
10. Use the Samoan Alphabet
Only 14 letters: A, E, I, O, U, F, G, L, M, N, P, S, T, V + ʻ (glottal stop).
- ❌ “cheese” → ✅ “sisi”.
