Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Tuvaluan Language shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Tuvaluan Language offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Tuvaluan Language at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Tuvaluan Language? Wrong! If the Tuvaluan Language is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Tuvaluan Language then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Tuvaluan Language? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Tuvaluan Language and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Tuvaluan Language wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Tuvaluan Language then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Tuvaluan Language site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Tuvaluan Language, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Tuvaluan Language, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{language|name=Tuvaluan|nativename='gana Tuvalu|states=Tuvalu, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand|fam3=[Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|fam4=Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|fam5=Oceanic languages|fam6=Central-Eastern Oceanic languages|fam7=Remote Oceanic languages|fam8=Central Pacific Languages|fam9=East Fijian-Polynesian Languages|fam10=Polynesian languages|fam11=Nuclear Polynesian languages|fam12=Samoic languages|fam13=Ellicean languages|nation=Tuvalu|iso2=tvl|iso3=tvl-->Tuvaluan is a Nuclear Polynesian languages of the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Northern and Central Melanesia. Tuvaluan has borrowed considerably from Samoan, the language of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are about 13,051 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide.

History Like all other Polynesian languages, Tuvaluan descends from an ancestral language, which historical linguists refer to as "Proto-Polynesian," which was spoken around 3,000 years ago.

Grammar The sound system of Tuvaluan consists of five vowels (i, e, a, o, u) and 10 or 11 consonants (p, t, k, m, n, ng, f, v, s, h, l), depending on the dialect. All sounds come in short and long forms, which are contrastive. There are four possible Article (grammar)s in Tuvaluan: definite singular te, indefinite singular se or he (depending on the dialect), definite plural zero form, and indefinite plural ne or ni (depending on the dialect). The verb can be either clause-initial or clause-medial, and the order of subject, direct object, and indirect object is relatively free. The adjective generally follows the noun, the possessor followed the possessed.

Dialects Tuvaluan is divided into two groups of dialects, Northern Tuvaluan, comprising dialects spoken on the islands of Nanumea, Nanumaga, and Niutao (as well as Niulakita), and Southern Tuvaluan, comprising dialects spoken on the islands of Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau and Nukulaelae. All dialects are mutually intelligible, and differ in terms of phonology, morphology, and lexicon. The Funafuti-Vaitupu dialects (which are very close to one another) is the de-facto national language, although speakers of the Northern dialects often use their own dialect in public contexts outside of their own communities. The inhabitants of one island of Tuvalu, Nui, speak a dialect of Gilbertese, a Micronesian language only very distantly related to Tuvaluan.

Tuvaluan is intelligible to the circa 1,700 speakers of Tokelauan, on the atolls of Tokelau, and on Swains Island in neighbouring American Samoa.

Literature The Bible was translated into Tuvaluan in 1987. Apart from this, there are very few Tuvaluan language books available. There is, however, a newspaper published in Tuvaluan, called Sikuleo o Tuvalu.

External links

• Niko Besnier, 2000, Tuvaluan: a Polynesian language of the Central Pacific, Routledge
• Niko Besnier, 1995, Literacy, Emotion, and Authority: Reading and Writing on a Polynesian Atoll, Cambridge University Press
• Ethnologue
• Donald Gilbert Kennedy's 1945 Tuvaluan Grammar
• http://www.ling.su.se/pollinet/facts/tok.html

{{language|name=Tuvaluan|nativename='gana Tuvalu|states=Tuvalu, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand|fam3=[Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|fam4=Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|fam5=Oceanic languages|fam6=Central-Eastern Oceanic languages|fam7=Remote Oceanic languages|fam8=Central Pacific Languages|fam9=East Fijian-Polynesian Languages|fam10=Polynesian languages|fam11=Nuclear Polynesian languages|fam12=Samoic languages|fam13=Ellicean languages|nation=Tuvalu|iso2=tvl|iso3=tvl-->Tuvaluan is a Nuclear Polynesian languages of the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers in Northern and Central Melanesia. Tuvaluan has borrowed considerably from Samoan, the language of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are about 13,051 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide.

History Like all other Polynesian languages, Tuvaluan descends from an ancestral language, which historical linguists refer to as "Proto-Polynesian," which was spoken around 3,000 years ago.

Grammar The sound system of Tuvaluan consists of five vowels (i, e, a, o, u) and 10 or 11 consonants (p, t, k, m, n, ng, f, v, s, h, l), depending on the dialect. All sounds come in short and long forms, which are contrastive. There are four possible Article (grammar)s in Tuvaluan: definite singular te, indefinite singular se or he (depending on the dialect), definite plural zero form, and indefinite plural ne or ni (depending on the dialect). The verb can be either clause-initial or clause-medial, and the order of subject, direct object, and indirect object is relatively free. The adjective generally follows the noun, the possessor followed the possessed.

Dialects Tuvaluan is divided into two groups of dialects, Northern Tuvaluan, comprising dialects spoken on the islands of Nanumea, Nanumaga, and Niutao (as well as Niulakita), and Southern Tuvaluan, comprising dialects spoken on the islands of Funafuti, Vaitupu, Nukufetau and Nukulaelae. All dialects are mutually intelligible, and differ in terms of phonology, morphology, and lexicon. The Funafuti-Vaitupu dialects (which are very close to one another) is the de-facto national language, although speakers of the Northern dialects often use their own dialect in public contexts outside of their own communities. The inhabitants of one island of Tuvalu, Nui, speak a dialect of Gilbertese, a Micronesian language only very distantly related to Tuvaluan.

Tuvaluan is intelligible to the circa 1,700 speakers of Tokelauan, on the atolls of Tokelau, and on Swains Island in neighbouring American Samoa.

Literature The Bible was translated into Tuvaluan in 1987. Apart from this, there are very few Tuvaluan language books available. There is, however, a newspaper published in Tuvaluan, called Sikuleo o Tuvalu.

External links

• Niko Besnier, 2000, Tuvaluan: a Polynesian language of the Central Pacific, Routledge
• Niko Besnier, 1995, Literacy, Emotion, and Authority: Reading and Writing on a Polynesian Atoll, Cambridge University Press
• Ethnologue
• Donald Gilbert Kennedy's 1945 Tuvaluan Grammar
• http://www.ling.su.se/pollinet/facts/tok.html