The wrestlers from Tonga....

[yamaneko]

Hisanoumi and Minaminoshima .....does anyone know if they speak English?

[aderechelsea]

isn't english the official language in Tonga?

EDIT: just checked it ... it is indeed along with Tongan

Edited March 21, 2006 by aderechelsea

[sekihiryu]

yep, they all speak English in Tonga, really nice laid back place ( been myself) huge people.

The English they speak in Tonga though isnt often the easiest to understand though

[Sasanishiki]

yep, they all speak English in Tonga, really nice laid back place ( been myself) huge people.

The English they speak in Tonga though isnt often the easiest to understand though

I don't know if you can make such a sweeping statement. I've not been to Tonga, but many older Tongans in New Zealand have little English ability...this would suggest that not all Tongans speak English easily or fluently.

[sekihiryu]

they are fluent, its just the accent that is hard to get sometimes, it would be the same way if I went to Scotland, who didnt have even a little bit of trouble with the movie trainspotting?

Of if I went into deep Texas etc, once met a guy from Texas who spoke Texan, wasnt really English!

When I was Tonga, I had trouble listening and frequently asked people to repeat themselves, young and old.

[Taizeniki]

Of if I went into deep Texas etc, once met a guy from Texas who spoke Texan, wasnt really English!

Whoa! As a native Texan of many generations.... "whatch y'all fixin' to talk about cheer? We pert ner jaw dang good anglish ouch yonder in Texass! Just listen to W!" :-) (Yusho winner...)

[Takanobaka]

Hisanoumi and Minaminoshima .....does anyone know if they speak English?

Minaminoshima speaks perfect English. Hisanoumi speaks well...

Not only that, but the colloquial form of English speech is really a pidgin anyway over there. Far fewer words, a lot of Tongan bastardizations of words, etc. It's marginally still English, but the pacific islander versions of English tend to be just about as far as one can get without it actually being considered a separate language. Somewhere I have a copy of the bible written in Pidgin called "Da Jesus Book". It's Hawaiian pidgin and not Tongan pidgen, but it's the same idea.

All that said, there are still probably plenty of Tongans who can speak English just fine. They probably just say "guy" a lot. :-)

[Kasugaran]

Most young Tongans speak English. Older Tongans have more trouble. I reckon our sumo boys would be fine in English. I do business with Tonga and we never have any problems.

[Kishinoyama]

Of if I went into deep Texas etc, once met a guy from Texas who spoke Texan, wasnt really English!

Whoa! As a native Texan of many generations.... "whatch y'all fixin' to talk about cheer? We pert ner jaw dang good anglish ouch yonder in Texass! Just listen to W!" (Clapping wildly...) (Clapping wildly...)

As a non-native living in TX, (three times altogether for almost 10 years total) most of the people in TX must be non-native because I can't remember anyone I have met so far talking like that. I guess I need to get away from the "big city" more often. (Clapping wildly...)