'Fakatumau kae fakaakoi tau ‘gana ke mautu a iloga o ‘ta tuā means 'preserve and embrace your language to safeguard our heritage identities'.
Vaiaso te Gana Tuvalu opens with a special church service.
This year’s opening of the Vaiaso te Gana Tuvalu - Tuvalu Language Week 2023 was held at the EFK Tuvalu Christian Church.
The Fetu Ao Pula was the grand venue for the opening of the Tuvalu Language week in association with the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust. The occassion also marked the 45th Anniversary of the Tuvalu Independency day celebrations.
This year’s theme for Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week is Fakatumau kae fakaakoi tau ‘gana ke mautu a iloga o ‘ta tuā means 'preserve and embrace your language to safeguard our heritage identities'.
The special message shared from the pulpit, from the book of Samuel 1, Chapter 8, reflected on the call from the people of Israel for a King to be appointed. The uplifting theme focused on the need to use what God has given wisely. Although it is a cautionary message, in some ways it also speaks to the call to action to maintain the vibrant Gana Tuvalu - a language that God has given to the people of Tuvalu.
Interestingly, it was observed that technology was widely used by the young people in the service to follow the bible reading. The Tuvalu Bible app is a digital version of the Bible that can be downloaded and read online. It is available on the YouVersion Bible app, which offers over 1,200 versions of the Bible in more than 900 languages. The Tuvalu Bible app is also available on Bible.com, where you can download it for free or read it online. The most popular version of the Tuvalu Bible is Te Tusi Tapu I Te Gana Tuvalu Lomiga Lua (Tusi Tapu) . It is also possible to listen to an audio version of the Tuvalu Bible on the YouVersion app.
Although it is not a new development, it will certainly provide a rich source of Tuvalu language corpus to support the efforts of maintaining the Gana Tuvalu for future generations.
The special church service was attended by Honourable Isaia Taape, the Minister of Health of the Government of Tuvalu, with a message from the Prime Minister Kausea Natano.
The Centre for Pacific Languages congratulates the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust and the wider Tuvalu community on the 45th anniversary of Tuvalu independence and a wonderful opening of the vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu. The Centre for Pacific Languages encourages all communities in Aotearo to join in the Language week celebrations and check out the calendar of events on the Ministry of Pacific Peoples website.
comments