Tonga Language Week 2024
It is Tonga Language Week 2024 | Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea Faka-Tonga in Aotearoa.
The 2024 theme for Tonga Language Week is 'E tu'uloa 'a e lea Faka-Tongá 'o ka lea'aki 'i 'api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-'a-kāingá - the Tongan Language will be sustainable when used at home, church and in the wider community.
Kat was born in Tonga and raised in Auckland by their grandparents where Tongan was always spoken at home. “The reason I became a nurse is because when I was year 9, my grandfather had major surgery. I saw the awesome work the nurses had done and also sometimes I’d seen my grandparents not understanding what was going on. For me, I just wanted to be that nurse who could do something – we have to be able to communicate with patients effectively.
In the video, Kat describes what it means for Tongan patients to have a bilingual nurse translating the medical details of what is happening so they understand the health procedures involved in their conditions, have someone listening to their concerns and answering their questions.
Listening to Kat’s story, it’s clear that their care and contribution to their peoples’ experience is helping create a better understanding between patients and the services being provided.
Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2024 is the fifth instalment of the University’s Pacific language video series for 2024. The videos are a celebration of the power of language and culture featuring our alumni who are sharing their experience and journey with sustaining language.
They feature a diverse range of alumni, from business leaders to educators, community leaders and more who are all passionate about sustaining languages for future generations.
Through their stories, it will be evident the many ways in which language is a vital component of cultural identity and the ways our alumni have implemented it into their daily lives.
Tongan greetings and other resources for Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2024, including email signatures and printable posters, are available on the website of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
Mālō ‘aupito (thank you very much)!
Release dates
To watch each video in the 2024 AUT Pacific language video series as they are launched, follow the Pacific at AUT Facebook page or watch on YouTube.
- Tuvalu Language Week: 29 September – 5 October
- Fijian Language Week: 6 – 12 October
- Niue Language Week: 13 – 19 October
- Tokelau Language Week: 27 October – 2 November
- Papua New Guines Pidgin Language Week: 10 – 16 November
- Solomon Islands Pidgin Language Week: 24 – 30 November