How is Samoa different from New Zealand?

Answer 1

importance of the languageThe Samoan language is an important language in New Zealand, because it is the third most spoken language after English and Maori. Originally the language is from Samoa where the language is spoken by nearly 100 percent of the people everyday. More than 150,000 Samoans in New Zealand are very proud to hold onto and to maintain their language in Aotearoa. In New Zealand about 66% of the Samoan community speak Samoan with a large number who speak it as their first language.

Many Samoan churches throughout New Zealand use the language on a regular basis. About 46% of New Zealand born Samoans speak the language. Many of these are proud of that and want their children to speak the language as well. Samoan is now part of the school curriculum in New Zealand. High schools in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch as well as many preschools use or teach the language as part of their daily programme. Samoan also has a degree programme at Victoria University of Wellington, and is part of Pacific Studies BA degree in Auckland university.

The Human Rights Commission supported Samoan language week last year (2009) and the celebrations nationwide was an astounding success.

Answer 2

Samoa, (formerly Western Samoa), like New Zealand, is an independent country in the south west Pacific Ocean.
Samoa has closer neighbours than New Zealand. The nearest countries to Samoa (within about 1000km) are :

• Tokelau;
• Fiji;
• Niue;
• Tonga;
• Tuvalu;
• The Cook Islands

and nearby territories include:

• American Samoa (USA);
• Wallis and Futuna (France);

New Zealand's nearest neighbouring countries are more than 2000km distant:

• Fiji; and
• Australia,

and the nearest territories are more than 1700km distant:

• New Caledonia (France);
• Lord Howe Island (Australia); and
• Norfolk Island (Australia).

Both Samoa and New Zealand have two main islands and several smaller islands, but Samoa is much smaller both in area and population at just over 2,900 km² and 180,000 people whereas New Zealand has an area of about 268,700 km² and 4.2 million people.

Samoa is predominantly Christian (about 98%) and the main first language is Samoan. This and English are the official languages of Samoa.
New Zealand is mainly Christian (about 56% and 35% no religion). The main first language is English, and Maori is spoken by 4% (Samoan is spoken by 2%). English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages of New Zealand.

Geophysically, Samoa is the result of volcanic activity, and New Zealand a combination of this and tectonic plate uplift. Both countries have one main island that is volcanically active.

The climates of the two countries are different because of the more northern latitude and smaller landmass of Samoa. Samoa is tropical, and New Zealand ranges from subtropical to temperate.