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Polynesian Triangle

2025-10-16T17:32:02Z

149.4.206.8: lang tags

{{Short description|Core area of Polynesia}}

[[Image:Polynesia-triangle.png|thumb|300px|The Polynesian Triangle is a geographical region of the Pacific Ocean with [[Hawaii]] ({{lang|haw|Hawaiʻi}} – 1), [[New Zealand]] ({{lang|mi|Aotearoa}} – 2) and [[Easter Island]] ({{lang|rap|Rapa Nui}} – 3) at its corners, but excluding [[Fiji]] on its western side. At the center is [[Tahiti]] ({{lang|ty|Tahiti}} – 5), with [[Samoa]] ({{lang|sm|Sāmoa}} – 4) to the west.]]

The '''Polynesian Triangle''' is a region of the [[Pacific Ocean]] with three island groups at its corners: [[Hawaii]] ({{lang|haw|Hawaiʻi}}), [[Easter Island]] ({{lang|rap|Rapa Nui}}) and [[New Zealand]] ({{lang|mi|Aotearoa}}). This is often used as a simple way to define [[Polynesia]].

Outside the triangle, there are traces of Polynesian settlement as far north as [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker Island (''Mokumanamana'')]], as far east as [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas y Gómez Island (''Motu Motiro Hiva'')]], and as far south as [[Enderby Island|Enderby Island (''Motu Maha'')]]. Also, there have once been Polynesian settlements on [[Norfolk Island]] and the [[Kermadec Islands|Kermadec Islands (''Rangitahua'')]]. By the time the Europeans first arrived, these islands were all uninhabited.

Today, the most numerous [[Polynesians|Polynesian peoples]] are the [[Māori people|Māori]], [[Native Hawaiians|Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli)]], [[Tongans]], [[Samoans]], [[Niueans]] and [[Tahitians]]. The native languages of this vast triangle are [[Polynesian languages]], which are classified by linguists as part of the [[Oceanic languages|Oceanic subgroup]] of [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]. They ultimately derive from the [[proto-Austronesian language]] spoken in [[Southeast Asia]] 5,000 years ago. There are also numerous [[Polynesian outliers|Polynesian outlier islands]] outside the triangle in neighboring [[Melanesia]] and [[Micronesia]].

==History==
{{Further|Polynesian navigation|Discovery and settlement of Hawaii}}

Anthropologists believe that all modern [[Polynesian culture]]s descend from a single [[protoculture]] established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people (''see also'' [[Lapita culture]]). There is also some evidence that Polynesians ventured as far east as [[Isla Salas y Gómez|Salas and Gómez Island]] and as far south as the [[New Zealand Subantarctic Islands|sub-Antarctic islands]] to the south of [[New Zealand]]. However, none of these islands are considered part of Polynesia proper, as no viable settlements have survived. There are remains of a Polynesian settlement dating back to the 13th century on [[Enderby Island]] in the [[Auckland Islands]].<ref>O'Connor, Tom ''Polynesians in the Southern Ocean: Occupation of the Auckland Islands in Prehistory'' in New Zealand Geographic 69 (September–October 2004): 6–8</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]], & O'Regan, Gerard R. (2000). "To the Final Shore: Prehistoric Colonisation of the Subantarctic Islands in South Polynesia". In ''Australian Archaeologist: Collected Papers in Honour of Jim Allen''. Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 440–454.</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]], & O'Regan, Gerard R. (1999). ''The Polynesian Archaeology of the Subantarctic Islands: An Initial Report on Enderby Island''. Southern Margins Project Report. Dunedin: Ngai Tahu Development Report.</ref><ref>[[Atholl Anderson|Anderson, Atholl]] (2005). "Subpolar Settlement in South Polynesia". ''Antiquity'' 79.306: pp. 791–800</ref> A shard of pottery was also recorded to have been found in the [[Antipodes Islands]], but the [[Te Papa]] museum in [[Wellington]] has stated that they do not possess this shard and that the original description of the find did not say anything about its being Polynesian in origin.

In contrast to the shape of a triangle, another theory states that the geography of Polynesian society and navigation pathways more accurately resemble the geometric qualities of an octopus with head centred on [[Raiatea|Ra'iātea]] (French Polynesia) and tentacles spread out across the Pacific.<ref>[https://www.tahiti-infos.com/Pourquoi-le-Triangle-polynesien-est-une-pieuvre_a135121.html ''Au gré des vents et des courants'' (Éditions des Mers Australes) 2009], E. Tetahiotupa</ref><ref>[[Te Rangi Hīroa]]: ''[http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucViki.html Vikings of the sunrise]''; New York 1938, [http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucViki-t1-body-d1-d8.html#n106 p. 88].</ref> In Polynesian oral tradition the octopus is known by various names such as [[Taumata-Fe'e-Fa'atupu-Hau]] (Grand Octopus of Prosperity), [[Tumu-Ra'i-Fenua]] (Beginning-of-Heaven-and-Earth) and [[Te Wheke-a-Muturangi]] (The Octopus of [[Muturangi]]).

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}
* [[Ancient Hawaii]]
* [[Māori people#Origins from Polynesia|Māori people origins]]
* [[Polynesian Leaders Group]]
* [[Te Wheke-a-Muturangi]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.polynesia.com/ Polynesian Cultural Center]
* [http://www.bishopmuseum.org/ Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum]

{{Polynesia}}
{{Regions of Oceania}}

[[Category:Geography of Polynesia]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean]]

Samoic languages

2025-09-18T18:20:15Z

149.4.206.8:

{{Short description|Purported group of Polynesian languages}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=Samoic
|altname=Samoic–Outlier
|region=[[Polynesia]]n islands
|familycolor=Austronesian
|fam2=[[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]
|fam3=[[Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian]]?
|fam4=Eastern Malayo-Polynesian
|fam5=[[Oceanic languages|Oceanic]]
|fam6=[[Central–Eastern Oceanic languages|Central–Eastern Oceanic]]
|fam7=[[Central Pacific languages|Central Pacific]]
|fam8=East Central Pacific
|fam9=[[Polynesian languages|Polynesian]]
|fam10=[[Nuclear Polynesian languages|Nuclear Polynesian]]
|child1=[[East Uvean–Niuafo'ou languages|East Uvean–Niuafo'ou]]
|child2=[[Ellicean languages|Ellicean]]
|child3=[[Futunic languages|Futunic]]
|child4=[[Pukapuka language|Pukapuka]]
|child5=[[Samoan language|Samoan]]
|child6=[[Tokelauan language|Tokelauan]]
|glotto=none
}}

The '''Samoic languages''' are a purported group of the [[Polynesian languages]] spoken in [[Samoa]], [[Tuvalu]], [[American Samoa]], [[Tokelau]], [[Wallis and Futuna]], [[New Caledonia]], the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Vanuatu]], [[Papua New Guinea]], and the [[Federated States of Micronesia]]. The name '''Samoic-Outlier''' recognizes [[Samoan language|Samoan]].

==Classification==
===Ethnologue===
According to ''Ethnologue'' 26, the Samoic–Outlier languages are as follows:

{{Tree list}}
* Samoic–Outlier
** East Uvean–Niuafo’ou
*** [[Niuatoputapu language|Niuatoputapu]]
*** [[Niuafoʻou language|Niuafo’ou]]
*** [[Wallisian language|Wallisian]]
** Ellicean
*** [[Kapingamarangi language|Kapingamarangi]]
*** [[Takuu language|Takuu]]
*** [[Nukuoro language|Nukuoro]]
*** [[Nukumanu language|Nukumanu]]
*** [[Nukuria language|Nukeria]]
*** [[Ontong Java language|Ontong Java]]
*** [[Sikaiana language|Sikaiana]]
*** [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvaluan]]
** Futunic
*** [[Anuta language|Anuta]]
*** [[Futunan language|East Futuna]]
*** [[Futuna-Aniwa language|Futuna–Aniwa]]
*** [[Emae language|Emae]]
*** [[Rennellese language|Rennell–Bellona]]
*** [[Mele-Fila language|Mele–Fila]]
*** [[Vaeakau-Taumako language|Vaeakau–Taumako]]
*** [[Tikopia language|Tikopia]]
*** [[West Uvean language|Fagauvea]]
** [[Pukapukan language|Pukapuka]]
** [[Samoan language|Samoan]]
** [[Tokelauan language|Tokelauan]]
{{Tree list/end}}

===Glottolog===
[[Harald Hammarström|Hammarström]] et al. do not view the Samoic–Outlier languages as a valid phylogenetic clade. As such, the languages classified as Samoic–Outlier languages in Ethnologue are classified in the Glottolog database within [[Nuclear Polynesian languages|Nuclear Polynesian]] as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nucl1485 |title=Glottolog 4.8 - Nuclear Polynesian |date=2023-07-10 |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=[[Glottolog]] |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117203121/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nucl1485 |archive-date=2023-11-17 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] |author-link=Harald Hammarström |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |publication-place=[[Leipzig]] |doi=10.5281/zenodo.7398962 |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |author-link3=Martin Haspelmath |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{Tree list}}
* [[Nuclear Polynesian languages|Nuclear Polynesian]]
** [[Anuta language|Anuta]]
** [[Futunan language|East Futuna]]
** East Uvean–Niuafoʻou
*** [[Wallisian language|East Uvean]]
*** [[Niuafoʻou language|Niuafoʻou]]
*** [[Niuatoputapu language|Niuatoputapu]]
** Ellicean
*** Pukapukic
**** [[Pukapukan language|Pukapuka]]
**** Samoan–Tokelauan
***** [[Samoan language|Samoan]]
***** [[Tokelauan language|Tokelau]]
*** [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvalu]]
** Northern Outlier Polynesian–East Polynesian
*** Carolinean Outlier Polynesian
**** [[Kapingamarangi language|Kapingamarangi]]
**** [[Nukuoro language|Nukuoro]]
*** Solomons Northern Outlier Polynesian–East Polynesian
**** Central Northern Outlier Polynesian–East Polynesian
***** Central Northern Outlier Polynesian
****** [[Ontong Java language|Luangiua]]
****** Takuuic
******* [[Nukumanu language|Nukumanu]]
******* [[Nukuria language|Nukuria]]
******* [[Takuu language|Takuu]]
***** East Polynesian
****** [...]
**** [[Sikaiana language|Sikaiana]]
** [[Rennellese language|Rennell–Bellona]]
** [[Tikopia language|Tikopia]]
** [[Vaeakau-Taumako language|Vaeakau–Taumako]]
** Vanuatu–Loyalty Outliers
*** [[Emae language|Emae]]
*** Mele–Futuna
**** [[Futuna-Aniwa language|Futuna–Aniwa]]
**** [[Mele-Fila language|Mele–Fila]]
*** [[West Uvean language|West Uvean]]
{{Tree list/end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Polynesian languages}}
{{Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages}}

[[Category:Samoic languages| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Papua New Guinea]]
[[Category:Languages of the Solomon Islands]]