The Territory of American Samoa has a total land area of 76 square miles made up of five volcanic islands (Tutuila, Aunu’u, Ofu, Olosega and Ta’ū) and two atolls (Rose and Swains). Including our marine waters and 200 mile exclusive economic zone, the Territory’s total area is 117,500 square miles, about the size of the State of Oregon or New Zealand. With steep volcanic mountains, the tallest peak Mount Lata 3170 feet is on Ta’ū Island and Mount Matafao at 2142 feet is the tallest on Tutuila Island. American Samoa is a tropical paradise and the climate averages 82˚-83˚ Fahrenheit all year round and the ocean waters that surround our islands averaging 82˚-86˚ Fahrenheit. With 90% of our islands covered in untouched tropical rainforest our flora and fauna is very unique. The National Park of American Samoa is the only US Park in the Pacific, offering challenging and dramatic hiking trails to historical sites, secluded beaches and villages. Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of only 13 conservation areas throughout the United States. From hiking tropical rainforests, to swimming, snorkeling, diving or fishing our surrounding ocean waters, American Samoa is an eco tourism haven for visitors wanting an undiscovered holiday paradise.

American Samoa’s islands make up the eastern part of the Samoan Archipelago, whose people are Polynesian. Archaeologists stated that the early Polynesians traveled from South East Asia into the Pacific populating the islands of the western Pacific from Papua New Guinea to Samoa and Tonga. It was from Samoa and Tonga some time later that the Polynesians migrated east and populated the Cook Islands, Niue and Tahiti before heading north to Hawaii and south to Aotearoa (New Zealand) on the last legs of the great Polynesian migration. Today Samoan’s are the regarded as the largest full blooded Polynesian race left in the Pacific.

There's nothing more that puts a smile on our faces then when visitors to our islands take the time to learn a few Samoan words and phrases.

So to give you a little helping hand, below we've listed a few words and a couple of phrases and given you a pronunciation guide to help you along.

So give it a go, because when you're on island and start speaking Samoan, you'll put a smile on everyone's faces including your own.