All About Samoan —And Samoan Ties

The Teach Yourself books that cover just about every language there is, from Afrikaans to Welsh, in 50 volumes, has added the 51sf to its repertoire. It’s “Teach Yourself Samoan,” and its author is C. C.

Marsack, until recently Chief Judge in Western Samoa, and now living in retirement in Fiji

JUDGE MARSACK wrote another book, published last year, called Samoan Medley, the result of his many years in the country. There is probably no one better fitted to compile this language book whose purpose is to provide the student with a working knowledge of Samoan.

As there are probably no more than 140,000 people in the two Samoas and in the Samoan colonies in New Zealand, the Pacific Coast of the US and Hawaii, that there is a Teach Yourself Samoan at all must be attributed to a spirit of high adventure on the part of the pub lishers. Nonetheless, to those who require to learn Samoan it will be a great boon. Virtually the only way to learn most Pacific languages is to go to the islands themselves and do it the hard way.

It is close to impossible in a book of this sort for the author to intro

duce any of the astringent wit that was evident in Samoan Medley. At the same time, the Judge has managed to work into his translation exer cises a few facts about the country, and some of its customs. For ex ample (from Teacher, who has gone shopping): And I want a new tie, too; have you got a plain one?

Here is a pretty one, sir. (From Paul, the shop-assistant.) Oh no, that is not plain. I do noi like those with pictures of girls or them.

I am sorry, sir, we have no plair ties. Everyone wants a tie with girls or flowers on it.

And there we must leave Teacher Paul and the painless road to fluen Samoan.

(Teach Yourself Samoan. Pub

lished by The English Universities Pres Ltd., 102 Newgate Street, London ECI UK price 10/6.)