Caption:
If chica bonita in Spanish makes sense to you
then teine aulelei in Samoan has got to make sense too
There’s a lot of languages that describe the subject by saying the descriptive word after the subject
Samoan is one of them
Teine aulelei
Galuega faigata
Ofutino taugofie
mea sili
toto maualuga
Again, we said the subject…then the word that describes it comes after.
This is the opposite of what we do in English because we normally put the adjective before the noun
Chica bonita makes sense because you’ve probably heard it so many times
That’s what you gotta do with your Samoan words
Take a bunch of nouns and describe them with one word after the noun until it becomes natural
Go to pasifikapages.net and get the worksheet
Understanding how subjects are described and placed in English versus Samoan provides an insightful look into the structural differences between these two languages. While both languages aim to convey clear and coherent messages, their grammatical rules and sentence structures vary significantly.
English Sentence Structure
In English, the sentence structure typically follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) pattern. This means that the subject (the doer of the action) comes first, followed by the verb (the action), and then the object (the receiver of the action). For example:
- English: “The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object).”
The subject in English is usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, making it clear who or what is performing the action. English also employs articles (a, an, the) and adjectives before nouns to provide more detail about the subject. For instance:
- Detailed English Sentence: “The small, black cat chased the frightened mouse.”
Here, “the small, black cat” is the subject, with “small” and “black” as adjectives providing more information about “cat.”
Samoan Sentence Structure
In contrast, Samoan language structure is typically Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). This means that the verb comes first, followed by the subject, and then the object. For example:
- Samoan: “Na (past tense marker) lamu (verb) le (article) pusi (subject) le (article) isumu (object).”
- Translation: “The cat chased the mouse.”
In Samoan, the verb precedes the subject, which is different from the English structure. The subject follows the verb and is often accompanied by articles similar to English, but these articles can vary based on definiteness and specificity.
Differences in Subject Description
- Placement and Emphasis:
- English: The subject is placed at the beginning of the sentence, which emphasizes who or what is performing the action. This initial placement helps in immediately identifying the subject of the sentence.
- Samoan: The subject comes after the verb, shifting the initial focus of the sentence to the action being performed rather than the doer. This can affect the emphasis and rhythm of the sentence, making the verb the focal point at the start.
- Use of Articles and Adjectives:
- English: Articles (“a,” “an,” “the”) and adjectives come before the noun they describe, providing clear and immediate details about the subject. For example, “the large dog” or “a beautiful flower.”
- Samoan: Articles in Samoan also precede the noun but adjectives typically follow the noun they describe. For example, “le tama lelei” translates to “the good boy,” where “le” is the article, “tama” is the noun, and “lelei” is the adjective.
- Definiteness and Specificity:
- English: Definiteness is often marked by the article “the,” while indefiniteness is marked by “a” or “an.” For instance, “the book” versus “a book.”
- Samoan: Samoan also uses specific articles to denote definiteness and indefiniteness, but their application can be more context-dependent and nuanced. The definite article “le” is similar to “the” in English, while “se” is used for indefinite references akin to “a” or “an.”
Examples of Detailed Descriptions
- English: “The quick, brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
- Subject: “The quick, brown fox”
- Verb: “jumps”
- Object: “the lazy dog”
- Samoan: “Ua oso le ‘ulavale ma le lanu enaena i luga o le maile māmā.”
- Verb: “Ua oso” (jumps)
- Subject: “le ‘ulavale ma le lanu enaena” (the quick, brown fox)
- Object: “i luga o le maile māmā” (over the lazy dog)
Conclusion
The fundamental difference in sentence structure between English and Samoan highlights the diversity in linguistic frameworks. English, with its SVO structure, places the subject at the forefront, establishing the doer of the action early in the sentence. Samoan, with its VSO structure, emphasizes the action first, followed by the subject, which can alter the focus and rhythm of communication. Understanding these differences is essential for learners of either language, as it impacts how information is processed and conveyed. By comparing these structures, one gains a deeper appreciation for the unique characteristics and expressive potentials of each language.
