University of Auckland

Centre for Pacific Studies

 

TONGAN 301 – Tongan Language 3

Semester 1, 2019

  

Lecturer:       Dr Melenaite Taumoefolau, Rm 1O2H, Pacific Studies

Telephone 373 7599 extn 85167. 

Email: m.taumoefolau@auckland.ac.nz

Office Hours – By appointment

 

 TON 301: Tongan Language 3

Centre for Pacific Studies

University of Auckland

 

Course Outline

 

TONGAN 301 will enable you to attain a high degree of spoken and written competence in the language, study aspects of its structure, appreciate some forms of Tongan literature, such as songs and speeches, study some aspects of the current Tongan political and economic situation, and gain some knowledge of Tongan customs and traditions.   

 

Courses in Tongan would be of interest if you are Tongan and have been brought up overseas, or if you wish to master communication skills in Tongan for purposes of better interaction with the Tongan community or for further study and research. Tongan may also interest you if you are pursuing studies in language-related fields such as linguistics or anthropology.

 

Functional Syllabus

 

Ko e ngaahi kaveinga te tau ako ki aí:

(Themes to be studied)

 

1. Ngaahi tala tukufakaholo ‘o Tonga fekau‘aki mo e kava, talatupu‘a mo e fananga, mo e palōveape (Oral traditions of Tonga about the kava, myths, legends and folktales, and proverbs and sayings.)  

 

2. Ngaahi liliu kuo hake mai ki he mo‘ui tukufakaholo ‘a e kakai Tongá ‘i he ‘ulungaanga faka-Tongá, ‘i he leá, ‘i he ngaahi tefito‘i tui, ‘i he mo‘ui faka‘ikonōmika mo e fakapolitikalé (Changes that have happened in traditional Tongan culture in the areas of language, values and beliefs, economic and political aspects of society)

 

3. Hisitōlia ‘o Tonga mei he tū‘uta mai ‘a e kau papālangí ki Tongá ‘o faai mai ki he taimi ni (Kuonga ‘o Tupou I kia Tupou VI) (History of Tonga from European contact to now – Era of Tupou I – Tupou VI)

 

4. Konisitūtone ‘o Tongá (Constitution of Tonga)

Structural syllabus

 

Pu‘akilea mo e Tohi he Lea Faka-Tongá – silapa, ngaahi lea silapa 2 mo e silapa 3, fakamamafa, vauele lōloa, vauele tu‘ulōua, ngaahi faka‘ilongaleá (fakau‘a, toloi, fakamamafa), vahevahe lea. (Pronunciation and orthography – concept of the syllable, disyllabic and trisyllabic words, stress, long vowels, double vowels, punctuation marks and diacritics used in the writing of Tongan.) 

 

Ngaahi lea fakakalama (grammatical words) – mu‘anauna (articles), takinauna (prepositions), faka‘ilonga taimi (tense signs), faka‘ilonga lahi (plural markers), fehokotakingalea (conjunctions), lea tuhu (demonstratives), lea faka‘ikai (negatives), lea fakafehu‘i (interrogatives), lea fakafika (numerals), lea fakahoa (comparatives)

 

Ngaahi tu‘unga fakakalama (word classes) – nauna, veape, hoanauna, hoaveape

 

Supiesi (subjects), ‘opiesi (objects)

 

 

Course Credit

 

Coursework:  50%

Examination: 50%

 

 

Coursework:  There are two assignments worth 15% each, and some tutorial work worth 20% (see below).

 

 

Assignment I Word Length 1500-2000 words (Due date to be advised)

 

Fa‘u ha‘o fakamatala ki he ngaahi ngāue ma‘ongo‘onga kuo fakahoko ‘e he Ha‘a Tu‘í ki he fonuá, ‘o kamata meia Tupou I kia Tupou V1, pea ke fakahā ai ha‘o fokotu‘utu‘u ki ha founga pule ‘okú ke pehē ‘e fe‘unga mo Tonga he ‘aho ní.

 

Assignment II Word Length 1500-2000 words (Due date to be advised)

 

Fa‘u ha‘o fakamatala ki he ngaahi liliu fakasōsiale mo fakapolitikale kuo hoko ki he fonuá pea ke fakahā ai honau ngaahi leleí mo honau ngaahi koví, pea fakahā ai foki ha‘o fokotu‘utu‘u ki he kaha‘u ‘o e fonuá.

 

 

Marking of Assignments

 

In marking your assignments I will be sympathetic towards students who make an effort to use correct Tongan orthography, students who show evidence of reading, and students who wrote several drafts before writing the final version that is handed in.  I will not be sympathetic to students who get others to do most of their writing, students who hand in a draft version that has not been adequately proofread, and students who do a last-minute job.

 

When submitting your assignment you should pin a Centre cover sheet to the front of your assignment and fill in the details. 

 

 

Tutorial Activities

 

There is no tutorial during the first week.  But in every tutorial from the second week onwards we will have writing exercises.  The best four marks will be converted to 20% of the course work.

 

 

Readings

Most of the readings required for this course will be given out as handouts. 

 

Marking

Assignments will be marked according to the following grade descriptors:

 

 

PACIFIC LANGUAGE COURSES

 

Please Note:    1) attainment descriptors must be adapted to different levels of learning and degree of study and students’ degree of fluency/exposure to the language;

2) in Pacific language courses, content (what is being said) and expression (how it is said) are of equal importance; and

3) all courses include the communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

 

A+, A, A-                    [A+ 90-100, A 85-89, A– 80-84]

Work of exceptionally high quality in both content and expression (A+); exceptional in either content or expression, high quality in the other (A); high quality in both content and expression  (A-) including the following:

• excellence of content including in-depth knowledge and understanding of essential points in key readings and lectures;
• excellence of expression using a range of language structures, varied and appropriate vocabulary and idiomatology;
• complete mastery of spelling conventions and use of language-specific punctuation marks (e.g. macron and glottal stop);
• outstanding performance in and flair for oral language across a range of genres;
• outstanding  level of  aural comprehension and ability to recognise the significance of non-verbal forms of communication;
• high level of recognition and understanding of culturally significant texts;  
• relevant literature referenced accurately.

 

B+, B, B-                    [B+ 75-79, B 70-74, B– 65-69]

Very competent (B+) to above average (B-) work showing: 

• good to very good mastery of both ideas/content with evidence of reading and grasp of key points in lectures;
• good to very good level of written expression and use of language structures, in some genres but not all;
• reasonably extensive vocabulary and generally correct use of spelling and punctuation rules, but lack of mastery of some rules;
• satisfactory to strong level of oral language performance; 
• good to very good level of  aural comprehension;
• good to very good level of recognition and understanding of some culturally significant texts
• relevant literature referenced accurately. 

 

C+, C, C-                    [C+ 60-64, C 55-59, C– 50-54]

Acceptable but limited work showing:

• some ideas/content but dull and predictable;
• adequate level of written expression but limited in range of language structures and vocabulary;
• some knowledge of a few spelling and punctuation rules but inconsistent application;
• some degree of  oral language performance but lacking originality ; 
• adequate level of aural comprehension;
• some level of recognition, but limited understanding, of some culturally significant texts; 

• some evidence of reading, participation in class and individual study.

 

D+, D                          [D+ 45-49, D 40-44]

Unacceptable work showing:

• weak grasp of both content and expression;
• poor levels of oral language performance and aural comprehension;
• poor level of written expression and unacceptable degree of needless repetition;
• limited vocabulary and unacceptable number of grammatical errors;
• scant recognition or understanding of culturally significant texts;
• little evidence of reading, active participation in class or individual study.

 

D-                                [D– 0-39]

Highly unsatisfactory work showing:

• extremely weak grasp of both content and expression;

• very poor levels of oral language performance and aural comprehension;

• very poor level of written expression;
• very limited vocabulary and numerous grammatical errors;
• no recognition or understanding of culturally significant texts;
• no evidence of reading, active participation in class or individual study.