Shake it like a Tahitian

by Andrew Evans on

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In a language that’s mostly all vowels, a bit of interpretive dance helps communicate one’s deepest thoughts and feelings. Sad? Lower your eyes. Fierce? Scowl and posture. Happy? Shake it, baby. Travelers have been awestruck by Tahitian dancers ever since they first landed on these dancing shores. The bearded missionaries of long ago secretly loved it and today’s MTV backup singers wanna steal these moves but ain’t got no rhythm.

Every two-bit hotel in Tahiti puts on a decent dinner dance show for the tourists, but when the natives start dancing for the natives, things get hot fast. I caught this little show at an official awards ceremony on a hot white sand beach on Bora Bora. Sit back and enjoy, and just ask yourself, can you shake it like a Tahitian? I didn’t think so.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/03/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

When temperatures start to climb too high and the ocean breeze off the island isn’t cutting it try asking for one of these to cool you down…

Today’s word is a Tahitian (Maohi) word used in Tahiti:

pia – beer

Tahitian is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia with the other being French. There are approximately 120,000 speakers through the Polynesian Islands. Head to Wikipedia for the background details as always. After you’ve gotten your history fix go to the tourism site for a small useful list of words to help get you by on the islands. Tahiti Explorer looks like it has the small list of words with a few more added on and a nifty pronunciation guide. The same thing goes for the list of words on the Tahiti Traveler without the pronunciation guide, so it’s really up to you to take your pick. Lonely Planet has a guide which probably has the same amount of words in the back of the glossary. Still – better to know a few than none at all.

Past Tahitian words: tamaaraa, pape, niuniu paraparau

Word for the Travel Wise (01/09/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Asking for the nearest telephone in Tahiti might feel like a breathy conversation in itself if you fail to nail the pronunciation at the first attempt.

Today’s word is a Tahitian (Maohi) word used in Tahiti:

niuniu paraparau – telephone

Tahitian is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia with the other being French. There are approximately 120,000 speakers through the Polynesian Islands. Head to Wikipedia for the background details as always. After you’ve gotten your history fix go to the tourism site for a small useful list of words to help get you by on the islands. Tahiti Explorer looks like it has the small list of words with a few more added on and a nifty pronunciation guide. The same thing goes for the list of words on the Tahiti Traveler without the pronunciation guide, so it’s really up to you to take your pick. Lonely Planet has a guide which probably has the same amount of words in the back of the glossary. Still – better to know a few than none at all.

Past Tahitian words: tamaaraa, pape