Tongan Language Week

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Today marks the start of Tongan Language Week, celebrating the ethnicity of more than 60,000 islanders living in New Zealand.

The official launch was held by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples in Auckland on Sunday night.

The week was about celebrating the language at home and with family. This year’s theme is ‘Fakakoloa Aotearoa ‘Aki ‘Ae Nofo ‘A Kainga’ or ‘Enriching Aotearoa with our Family Values’.

Tongans are the third largest Pacific population in the country, and although the number of Tongans has grown since 2001, their use of the Tongan language has dropped from 57 percent to 53 percent.

Events are being held around the country until Saturday 9 September.