Tongan people in New Zealand

Tongan - Language

 
|

Tongan

  • In 2001, 60 percent of Tongan people (with a language) were able to hold an everyday conversation in Tongan – down from 63 percent in 1996.
  • A higher proportion of the overseas-born Tongan population was able to speak Tongan (79 percent of those with a language) than the New Zealand-born Tongan population (43 percent of those with a language). This pattern held across all age groups, as shown in figure 2.1.

tongan-figure21.

  • The proportion of the New Zealand-born Tongan population able to speak Tongan in 2001 was unchanged from 1996 (43 percent of those with a language).
  • New Zealand-born Tongan people in the younger age groups were more likely to be able to speak Tongan than their older counterparts, as figure 2.1 illustrates. Among the New Zealand-born population, those under 15 years were the most likely to be able to speak Tongan (48 percent) in 2001.

English

  • English is the most widely spoken language among the Tongan population. The proportion of Tongan people not able to speak English decreased from 15 percent (of those with a language) in 1996 to 9 percent in 2001.
  • In 2001, the majority (79 percent) of Tongan people unable to speak English were born overseas. Of those born overseas and unable to speak English, more than half (54 percent) had been in New Zealand for more than 10 years.
|