Smartphone app aims to foster Samoan language

Transcript

A smartphone application designed to foster and grow the use of the Samoan language has extended its reach.

Fa'a Samoa was originally only available on Apple's iOS system but has this month been added to the Android app store.

The Managing Director of application creator Juice Apps Tracey Collins told Koro Vaka'uta how the application was created.

TRACEY COLLINS:  We say we speak two languages at home.  My partner and I are Samoan but our kids just don't speak Samoan at all so Canon, my partner who created the app, thought maybe we could do something that the kids could learn how to speak Samoan from.  Because they use their tablets or ipads all the time we thought that would be the best way for them to learn from.  Canon brought it out first on iOS and it just progressed from there like he put it on for other people to use for their kids.  It's free on the iOS store so other people starting asking if he could put it on the Google Play store for Android users and yeah he just released that days ago.

KORO VAKA'UTA:  It sounds perfect for this day and age.

TC:  Yeah, I know, I know, definitely because I think our language is slowly dying out.  I think it's important for us to try and hold on to your heritage and our culture and make sure that our kids and their kids can keep our language going.

KV:  Now, talk us through a little bit about how the app actually works.

TC:  So at the moment it's quite basic.  It's almost like a child learning how to speak when they go to school.  It's got the Pi Samoa which is the alphabet.  It's got Numera which is the numbers.  Colours, which is Lanu.  Taimi for time.  He's recently just incorporated months, days and just basic conversations that you might have like how are you? O a mai oe?  Things like that.  On the app you can just press the different options you want to have a look through like for Pi Samoa you click on the icon for Pi and then whatever letter you click on my voice will come up and it will just go through the pronunciation of that letter.

KV:  Will you guys look at extending or expanding the data that's on there at the moment?

TC:  Absolutely.  Since the app's come out for everyone to download, mainly on the iOS store, we've had so many feedbacks for different things.  What we've noticed is people for their kids as well but also for Samoans who just don't know how to speak Samoan very well.  They're also contacting us asking if we can put more extensive conversations on there or how they can reply to somebody.

KV:  And in terms of the actual popularity of it, do you have numbers in terms of downloads?  What does it look like at the moment?

TC:  At the moment on the iOS app there's over 1200 downloads, because the Google Play one just came out we don't have any stats on it yet.

KV:  And you guys have obviously used it in your own household?

TC:  Definitely.  My kids all use it.  As soon as they started using it they can all say the alphabet,  the numbers and they've started using it just in daily conversations.