Tahitian interpreters and translators
CIT offers Tahitian interpreters and translators with legal, medical and specialty experience, including criminal and civil matters, employee meetings, engineering, patent cases, labor disputes, immigration and more.
Although based in Los Angeles, CIT offers comprehensive Tahitian language services including interpretation, translation and transcription, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide. Our interpreters and translators are native speakers who have been screened, certified, have provided credentials, field tested, and kept up to date with developments in both English and the Tahitian language through means such as lectures, conferences, and travel. CIT’s Tahitian language interpreters and translators possess in depth knowledge of the Tahitian language, as well as of the culture and history of the Tahitian people, allowing them to provide informed and complete interpretation and translation.
The Tahitian Language
The Tahitian language, a Polynesian language, is spoken in Tahiti and other French Polynesian Islands. It is also known as Reo Tahiti. According to census in 2007, almost 70,000 people speak Tahitian. These Tahitian speakers live primarily in the Society Islands. Other Tahitian speakers live in the Tuamotu Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Vanuatu. The Tahitian language is very close to the Rarontongan and Hawai’ian languages.
Before the 1800s, Tahitian was a solely oral language. A Welsh historian and linguist, John Davis suggested developing a Tahitian alphabet based on Latin. Davis would later produce the first Tahitian book in 1810 called Te Aebi no Tahiti. Since then, most literature printed in Tahitian has been for religious or educational purposes. Davis’ alphabet used 8 consonants and 5 vowels. There are only about one thousand words. One may think it would be easy for foreigners to learn Tahitian but because it is extremely different from European languages, it is actually quite difficult for foreigners to learn. The French language has a heavy influence on Tahitian.
In 1975, the Tahitian Academy came into existence. It is a group of 20 members. Up until then, Tahitian was considered a foreign language. In 1982, it began being used in schools again. Prior to that in 1980, Tahitian achieved the same status as French as an official language in Tahiti. However, because the French Constitution does not allow for more than one official language in French territories, it was not included in the 1996 French Polynesian status. Because of this, French Tahitian is only considered to be a dialect.
Fun Facts about Tahiti
- Tahiti and Her Islands spans about 2 million square miles in the South Pacific Ocean
- The capital of Tahiti is Papeete, meaning “water basket”
- About 285,000 people live in French Polynesia
- It is accepted to put the Tahitian national flower, a Tiare behind the ear. If you are taken, you place the flower behind the left ear. If you place it behind the right, you are single.
- The nickname of Moorea is The Island of Love. “Bora Bora” is known as “The Romantic Island.”
- Black pearls are indigenous to the Tuomotu Islands.
- What seems to be mailboxes outside of homes are actually French bread delivery boxes. In Tahiti, one must go to the mailbox to get their mail!