Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook [Paperback]

Galumalemana Afeleti Hunkin (Author), Fatu Feu'u (Illustrator), Sale Jessop (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Polynesian Press (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0908597045
• ISBN-13: 978-0908597048
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,445,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great way to learn Samoan, May 21, 2003

By 

Urs (Basel Schweiz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook (Paperback)

Talofa Lava
This book by Galumalemana Afeleti L. Hunkin (a University professor for Samoan Language in Wellington, New Zealand) is perfect if you want to learn the Samoan Language. With lots of exercises and good explanations it makes learning the language easy and enjoyable.
I recommend to order the audio cassette with it. It is useful to hear native speakers who know how to pronounce their words...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Audio samples & Flashcards available, July 18, 2010

By 

J. Leigh "jleigh7" (chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook (Samoan Edition) (Paperback)

The audio samples are available for free on the University of Hawaii Press website.
Just search for gagana on their site and it will show you legitimate and free links to mp3 and realaudio recordings.

If you are going to learn this stuff you have to do the exercises. Recommend doing them on paper, not by typing them into a computer. You will learn faster that way.

As additional aids to study:

Flashcardexchange has online flashcards for this book. You can either review them on the web, or there is an iPhone app called Mental Case that will let you download the flashcards. Flashcardexchange also appears to have flashcards for the Samoan Word book that is also available on Amazon. Even though Mental Case can support audio samples in flash cards unfortunately none of the Flashcardexchange cards have them.

Also search on google for two documents:

- Gagana Samoa Mo Pisikoa. Peace Corps Samoan Language Handbook
- Samoa Language Program Guide John Mayer

To gain more experience learning from native speakers I recommend tuning into local radio stations that stream over the Internet.
In particular:

KSBS-FM Island 92
Radio Samoa 1593AM
V103 - Pago Pago - American Samoa Radio

Lastly, you have to get yourself a proper dictionary. The best one is by G. B. Milner- which is out of print in the US and therefore rather expensive from the Amazon merchants. But you can easily order one from New Zealand from Wheeler Books. Just google for the company.

There is an iPhone app but it is very limited and rather buggy.

All the above resources are collected at:
[...]

Soifua!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gagana Samoa - a GREAT learning tool~!, December 10, 2010

By 

Susan Afalava - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook (Paperback)

I ordered this book in 1993 and studied the language solely based on this book. This was a FANTASTIC book to use to start learning the language. I am a non-Samoan who has been speaking the language for over 17 years. Because I had my husband speak with me daily in Samoan, I had an extra advantage as I was able to practice the intricacies of the language.

One thing I noticed is that if you are NOT very good in English grammar (understanding what first person exclusive is, etc.), you will have a difficult time teaching yourself a language from a book! If you are not patient with learning and memorizing, you will also have a tough time! Some people learn better from visual sources (books) and others learn better through auditory means (orally)...I am a visual learner, so this book was a very successful tool for me.

Bottom line...learning another language takes time, patience, and practice. I highly suggest this book...it is a great tool for getting started with the Samoan language. Take it from someone who used it...successfully! :)