You’ve been open about not talking Tongan whenever you had been younger, which made it more durable to attach together with your neighborhood and tradition. Although I imagine you later discovered the language, this can be a frequent battle for a lot of Pacific Islanders throughout the diaspora, whether or not within the US, Australia, NZ, or anyplace else. What would say to anybody who doesn’t converse their mom tongue and feels a bit disconnected?
Initially, in case you really feel that, that is completely regular. You grew up away from dwelling, and a number of the time, your mother and father grew up away from dwelling and located this new place that they needed to adapt to. So, that feeling of disconnection is regular. The second factor I might say is you aren’t disconnected, although. I do not care what anybody says, irrespective of how little or how a lot you converse your language, you are still Tongan. You are still Samoan. That alienating factor that generally a part of our tradition does, of “you are not sufficient,” is garbage. It is terrible. The third factor I might say is take lessons. It is by no means too late. I personally take lessons as soon as per week, and I’ve homework and that form of factor. It isn’t for no different motive however as a result of I needed to do it for me. You are able to do it in your youngsters or no matter, however I needed to do it for me, and I needed to have the ability to talk, one, to my elders, two, to my youngsters, and three, to my neighborhood. That was one thing that I actually determined was one thing I wish to take to my grave, and it is by no means too late.
The difficult factor with that, although, is having the ability to observe. That takes talking to your mother and father in Tongan, or studying to talk to your mates who’re of your individual tradition in your language. And at first, it could be like, “Ugh.” [Makes a funny face] The reality is, sure, I’m attempting. “Oh, your Tongan is a bit off.” Yeah, it’s off as a result of I am nonetheless piecing it collectively. And that is a part of the journey. That is a part of our life. It is your life’s work, piecing it collectively. Nobody’s excellent; nobody’s acquired all of it collectively. So, language is part of that.
BuzzFeed: I really like the way you stated it is primarily for your self, however so you possibly can converse with the elders and the children locally as properly. Is that one thing that you just’re practising with your individual youngsters?
Yeah, completely. Day-after-day, I converse to my youngsters in Tongan, and I converse to my buddies in Tongan. A part of the lessons that I take is to textual content after which repeat the textual content orally to somebody of Tongan heritage. So, it could possibly be my mum or my buddies or whoever. That is one thing I am actually having fun with, simply rising on my Tongan and studying. There’s some issues, as you’d know in Samoan, that whenever you talk them in your language, it would not translate properly in English. It would not carry the identical spirit or the identical heat or the identical power. Whenever you say one thing in Samoan to somebody, particularly who’s older than you, they usually say it again to you, there’s simply one thing completely different about it, proper? And so, that is one thing that I might miss if I wasn’t clear on my understanding of Tongan, or clear in my talking of Tongan. So, that is one thing that I wish to embrace extra of.
