Talk:Upolu Language

Source?
Is this a valid group verifiable from a linguistic source - ie, does it differ sufficiently from the Samoan language to warrant separation as a different language group this way? Is it accepted as such by linguists? Otherwise this article needs to be deleted unless a verifiable source is provided. Kahuroa (talk) 04:32, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Hovdhaugen 1984 The Chronology of Three Samoan Sound Changes (Pacific Linguistics C-94) discusses regional variation in Samoan. Colloquial Samoan collapses *t > k and *n > ŋ. The degree to which this sound change is completed varies by region. According to Hovdhaugen, the k/ŋ style is rare in Manu'a (the east), whereas the t/n style is rare in Savai'i (the west). But apart from these distributional variations, there don't seem to be significant grammatical or lexical differences.
 * Also, Upolu makes up roughly half the land area of (Independent) Samoa. If Josefernaca declares Upolu to be a language, it would imply that the Samoan language article refers only to the language of Savai'i. Apart from it being not true, I suspect many Samoans would also find it offensive. ┄ Ngio (talk) 09:34, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

I certainly never heard anything in my Polynesian linguistics studies to support what this article is suggesting. Looks like nominating for deletion is the course to take here. Kahuroa (talk) 10:04, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
 * It's a pity Josefernaca didn't hang around longer to respond. He/she has only ever logged on once: a three-hour session on the English  and  Samoan wikipedias. I'd say go ahead and propose deletion.  ┄  Ngio (talk) 10:02, 10 October 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, I've checked Mosel and Hovdhaugen (1992) Samoan Reference Grammar. They say that the difference between the literary and colloquial registers is quite marked (incl. collapse of k/ŋ, t/n, and l/r, as well as lexical and syntactic differences), but that there is even less regional variation in Samoan than would be typical for a language of that size. Certainly no suggestion that there is even dialect differentiation, not to mention distinct languages. ┄ Ngio (talk) 11:34, 10 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I think that since this is obvious nonsense, it might be more efficient to simply make it a redirect to Samoan language. End of problem. Kahuroa (talk) 20:46, 10 October 2008 (UTC)