Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Tonga
Ethnicity
Most of the people of Tonga are ethnically Polynesian, although the Tongans prefer to be called ethnically Tongan. The Polynesians, who are a group of people that are related to the Melanesians and Austronesians among others, occupy much of the South Pacific. The Tongans are closely related to the Samoans, Tuvaluans, and are more distantly related to other Polynesian people, including the Maori of New Zealand and the Hawai'ians in the United States.
Language
Both Tongan and English are official languages in Tonga, but English is primarily just a secondary language as there are few native speakers. Tongan belongs to the Austronesian language family and is more particularly defined as a Polynesian language. The closest linguistic relatives to Tongan are other Polynesian languages, with Niuean being the most similar, but also being further related to Samoan, Hawai'ian, Maori, and the languages of the Cook Islands and French Polynesia among others.