Niue

= Niue = = Niue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean .Niue is 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoans to the northwest, and the Cook Island to the southeast. The land area is 260 km2 with about 1,400 people who are predominantly [|Polynesian]. = = The name ‘Niue’ translates as ‘Behold! The coconut!’, a reference to the fact that this rocky island could sustain the coconut palm, thereby making it a land worth inhabiting. Polynesians benefit immensely from this plant and have ingeniously evolved innumerable uses of it. = = Size = = Niue is much larger than the entire Cook’s group of fifteen islands put together, yet Niue only have less than one tenth of their population. There really are no crowds at all. We are small, but not tiny, since at 269 sq. kms of land area, Niue is over four times the size of Rarotonga – which covers 67.2 sq. km. = = Language = = The Niuean language or Niue language (Niuean: ko e vagahau Niuē) is a [|Polynesian] language, belonging to the [|Malayo-Polynesian subgroup] of the [|Austronesian languages]. It is most closely related to [|Tongan] and slightly more distantly to other Polynesian languages such as [|Māori], [|Sāmoan], and [|Hawaiian]. Together, Tongan and Niuean form the [|Tongic] subgroup of the Polynesian languages. Niuean also has a number of influences from Samoan and Eastern Polynesian languages. = = = =﻿media type="custom" key="6974019"= = URLS: = = [] = = [] = = [] =