Friday, January 22, 2016

Language and Religion: Samoa and Ukraine

Samoa:

 Language:
  • What is the official/main language?
- The official language of Samoa, alongside English, is Samoan.
  • What language family does the main language belong to?
- The Samoan language is classified as a member of the Austronesian family. 
  • What are the top spoken languages? Include percentages if possible.
- The most spoken languages in Samoa consist of English and Samoan; most modern Samoans are bilingual in both. 
  • Include a sample sentence in the official/main language and in English.
- Samoan writing is derived from the Latin-based alphabet. For example:

- O tagata soifua uma ua saoloto lo latou fananau mai, ma e tutusa o latou tulaga aloaia faapea a latou aia tatau. Ua faaeeina atu i a latou le mafaufau lelei ma le loto fuatiaifo ma e tatau ona faatino le agaga faauso i le va o le tasi i le isi.
TRANSLATION
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


Religion:
  • What is the main religion?
- The main religion in Samoa is Christianity.
  • Summarize/explain the main religion in 3-5 sentences.
- 98% of Samoans are Christians. They have several Christian denominations, such as Methodists, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholics, and Mormons. In tradition, Samoans believe that at the time of death, the body separates from the soul.
  • What are the other top religions in the country? Include percentages if possible.
- Samoans have no other religion(s), but before Christianity, the Samoans first religion was nothing like it. It consisted of a complex polytheistic religion that dealt with both human and non-human gods. They didn't have many outward signs of their religious belief, so it was commonly seen that they simply had no religion.

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