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The Tahitic languages are a group of Eastern Polynesian languages
Eastern Polynesian languages

Eastern Polynesian is a language subgroup of the Polynesian languages consisting of 13 languages, all spoken on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Included in this group are Hawaiian language, Tahitian language and Maori language....
 in the Central Eastern branch. (The other members of Central Eastern are Rapan
Rapan language

Rapan is the language of Rapa Iti, in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is classified as an Polynesian languages, along with the Marquesic languages and Tahitic languages....
, spoken on Rapa Island, and the Marquesic languages
Marquesic languages

Marquesic Languages are a small but historically important subgroup of Central Eastern Polynesian languages:# Marquesan languages of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia...
).

The two most important languages of the group by number of speakers are Tahitian
Tahitian language

Tahitian, a Tahitic languages, is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia . It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to Rarotongan language, Maori language, and Hawaiian language....
 and New Zealand Maori
Maori language

Maori or te reo Maori, also commonly shortened to te reo , functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. Linguists classify it within the Eastern Polynesian languages as closely related to Cook Islands Maori, Tuamotuan language and Tahitian language; somewhat less closely to Hawaiian language and Marquesan language; a...
. Tahitian is the main language of the Society Islands
Society Islands

The Society Islands are a group of islands in the south Pacific Ocean. They are an administrative part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook states in his journal th...
, and is used as a lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
 throughout much of French Polynesia
French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a France overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory ....
, while Maori is spoken by a sizable minority in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 where it shares official status with English.

Other languages of the group include:






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The Tahitic languages are a group of Eastern Polynesian languages
Eastern Polynesian languages

Eastern Polynesian is a language subgroup of the Polynesian languages consisting of 13 languages, all spoken on islands in the Pacific Ocean. Included in this group are Hawaiian language, Tahitian language and Maori language....
 in the Central Eastern branch. (The other members of Central Eastern are Rapan
Rapan language

Rapan is the language of Rapa Iti, in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is classified as an Polynesian languages, along with the Marquesic languages and Tahitic languages....
, spoken on Rapa Island, and the Marquesic languages
Marquesic languages

Marquesic Languages are a small but historically important subgroup of Central Eastern Polynesian languages:# Marquesan languages of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia...
).

The two most important languages of the group by number of speakers are Tahitian
Tahitian language

Tahitian, a Tahitic languages, is one of the two official languages of French Polynesia . It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to Rarotongan language, Maori language, and Hawaiian language....
 and New Zealand Maori
Maori language

Maori or te reo Maori, also commonly shortened to te reo , functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. Linguists classify it within the Eastern Polynesian languages as closely related to Cook Islands Maori, Tuamotuan language and Tahitian language; somewhat less closely to Hawaiian language and Marquesan language; a...
. Tahitian is the main language of the Society Islands
Society Islands

The Society Islands are a group of islands in the south Pacific Ocean. They are an administrative part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook states in his journal th...
, and is used as a lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
 throughout much of French Polynesia
French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a France overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory ....
, while Maori is spoken by a sizable minority in New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
 where it shares official status with English.

Other languages of the group include:
Austral
Austral language

Austral is a Polynesian languages spoken by about 8000 people on the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is being supplanted by Tahitian language....
 (or Tubuaian), spoken in the Austral Islands
Austral Islands

The Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Oceania. Geographically, the Austral Islands consist of two separate archipelagos....
Moriori
Moriori language

Moriori is a formerly extinct language Malayo-Polynesian languages most closely related to Maori language. It is the native language of the Moriori, the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands , which are east of New Zealand and under its sovereignty....
, of the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands

The archipelago of the Chatham Islands is a territory of New Zealand of about ten islands within a radius. The remote islands, over east of southern New Zealand, have officially belonged to the country since 1842....
 of New Zealand
Penrhyn
Penrhyn language

The Penrhyn language is a Polynesian languages spoken by about 600 people on Penrhyn Island and other islands of the Cook Islands. It is considered to be an Endangered languages....
 (or Tongarevan), spoken on Penrhyn
Penrhyn Island

Penrhyn Island is the most remote and largest atoll of the 15 Cook Islands in the south Pacific Ocean, 1365 km north-north-east of Rarotonga, 9th parallel south below the equator....
 (Tongareva) in the northern Cook Islands
Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in Associated state with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres of ocean....
Rarotongan, spoken in the southern Cook Islands
Rakahanga-Manihiki
Rakahanga-Manihiki language

Rakahanga-Manihiki is a Cook Islands Maori dialectal variant belonging to the Polynesian languages family, spoken by about 2500 people on Rakahanga and Manihiki Islands and another 2500 in other countries, mostly New Zealand and Australia....
, spoken on Rakahanga
Rakahanga

Rakahanga, part of the Cook Islands in the central-southern Pacific Ocean, is one of the most unspoiled places on earth. The atoll is 1,248 kilometres from the Cook Islands capital, Rarotonga and lies 1,111 kilometres from the equator....
 and Manihiki
Manihiki

Manihiki is an island in the Cook Islands known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular atoll 1160 km north of Rarotonga, and is said to be one of the group?s loveliest islands....
 in the northern Cook Islands
Tuamotuan
Tuamotuan language

The Tuamotuan language is a Tahitic languages spoken by about 6700 people in the Tuamotus and an additional 2000 in Tahiti.External links...
, spoken throughout the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia, with the exception of Puka-Puka
Puka-Puka

Puka-Puka, is a small coral atoll in the northeastern Tuamotus, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, located 182 km to the southwest....
 and the Disappointment Islands
Disappointment Islands

The Disappointment Islands are a subgroup of the Tuamotu in French Polynesia. They are located towards the northeast, away from the main Tuamotu group....
.
Epnmajorgroups


External links