Editing Tuvaluan language (section)

== Language influences ==
Tuvaluan has had significant contact with [[Gilbertese language|Gilbertese]], a [[Micronesian languages|Micronesian language]]; [[Samoan language|Samoan]]; and, increasingly, [[English language|English]]. Gilbertese is spoken natively on Nui, and was important to Tuvaluans when its colonial administration was located in the [[Gilbert Islands]]. Samoan was introduced by missionaries, and has had the most impact on the language. During an intense period of colonization throughout Oceania in the nineteenth century, the Tuvaluan language was influenced by Samoan missionary-pastors. In an attempt to "Christianize" Tuvaluans, linguistic promotion of the Samoan language was evident in its use for official government acts and literacy instruction, as well as within the church, until being replaced by the Tuvaluan language in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Barbosa da Silva|first=Diego|date=September 2019|title=Política Linguística na Oceania: Nas fronteiras da colonização e da globalização |journal=Alfa: Revista de Linguística |volume=63|issue=2|pages=317–347|doi=10.1590/1981-5794-1909-4|issn=1981-5794|doi-access=free}}</ref>

English's influence has been limited, but is growing. Since gaining political independence in the 1970s, knowledge of the English language has gained importance for economic viability in Tuvalu. The ability to speak English is important for foreign communications and is often the language used in business and governmental settings.{{sfn|Besnier|2000}}