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- Cook Islands Maori
- What is a Pakeha?
- Maori 1 2007
- Maori 2 2007
- Pacific Englishes
- Dutch
- Pasifika Communities 1
- NZ Europeans
- Census Wk 2.1
- Dutch
- Chinese
- Introduction
- Identity Lecture 1
- Language & Maintenance Shift
- Identity
- Census Wk 2.2
- Japanese
- Greek
- Language & Identity
- NZ Populations
- Course Outline
- NZ Europeans and NZE
- Tongan Community
- Lecture Topics
- NZ English
- NZ Greek Community
- Korean
- English Language & identity
- Maori Identity
- Pasifika Communities
- Europeans
- Links
- Korean II
- Niuean Community
- References
- Pakeha
- Assessment
- Maori Identity
- Readings
- Exam Preparation
- Asian Communities
- Globalisation
- NZ Regional Variation
- NZ Sign Language
Niuean Community
Introduction to Niue
The Island
- 2400 km NE of New Zealand
- 259 square kms
- 13 villages, largest Alofi
The Settlers
- Est. Population 2001: 1736 (2001 Niue Census)
- Est. Population 1966: 5,200 (Walrond 2005)
Status
- New Zealand Protectorate (1901-1974)
- Independent nation: 1974-
- Major Source of concern: Out-migration
Language in Niue
- Official Languages: Niuean/English
- Language in Education: Niuean (primary), Secondary (English)
- High level of English proficiency
- Niuean Variety of English modelled on NZE
New Zealand Niuean Demographics
- 7 out of 10 Niueans in New Zealand are New Zealand-born
- Median length of time in New Zealand for Niuean-born 26 years
- 4th largest Pasifika community in New Zealand
- 4 out of 5 Niueans in New Zealand live in the Auckland region
- 1 out of 3 Niueans live in Manukau
- High-Achievers
Niuean Language in New Zealand
- 28% of Niueans are able to hold a conversation about an everyday topic in Niuean
- This is down 4% from the 1996 figure
TABLE 1: COMMUNITY LANGUAGE (CL) AS FIRST LANGUAGE
| Old | Middle | Young | Chi-Square | |
| Tongan | 10 | 9 | 7 | .213 |
| Samoan | 10 | 8 | 6 | .083 |
| Nuiean | 10 | 8 | 5 | .029 |
| Cook Is Maori | 10 | 10 | 3 | .000 |
TABLE 2: REPORTED PROFICIENCY IN THE CL BY AGE-GROUP
| Old | Middle | Young | Spearman | |
| Tongan | 9 | 6 | 5 | .041 |
| Samoan | 10 | 7 | 3 | .001 |
| Nuiean | 10 | 7 | 3 | .000 |
| Cook Is Maori | 10 | 9 | 4 | .001 |
Figure 1: Niuean language as spoken to and by ('always' and 'mostly' Niuean responses)
The importance of English
- English is indisputably the dominant language in New Zealand, and one the Niuean community strive to attain (Siegel 1976, Head 2000).
- The universal role of English
- English as a core subject
- English to feed in information
- English to start future careers
- English to get a job, or to get anywhere
- Things out there will not be in Niuean
- If educated in English…a better understanding of things in English
- English important for secondary school
Table 4: Number of Niuean respondents who mention language as playing a role in their childhood and current household identity
| Young | Middle | Old | |
| Male | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Female | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 9 | 7 | 4 |
Language of Interview
- Older Speakers interviewed in Niuean and placed less emphasis on the Niuean language
- 14 respondents who mentioned language as part of their identity INTERVIEWED in English
- Younger respondents with limited proficiency in Niuean classified their households as 'somewhat Niuean' (Excerpts 2-4)
- Those fluent in Niuean tended to classify their households as 'very Niuean' and make NO reference to language (Excerpt 5)
Conclusions
- Niuean language is an endangered language, with numbers perhaps only tenable in New Zealand
- English has an important place in the NZ Niuean community
- Narratives on the role of language & identity suggest that while English is important, the Niuean community is keen for the Niuean language to play a key role in part of what it means to BE NIUEAN
