American Samoa's Governor, Togiola Tulafono, has announced the establishment of a Samoan Language Commission to set standards for the teaching and usage of the Samoan language.
The governor says efforts by the Department of Education to give proper emphasis to the teaching of Samoan language and culture have produced good results.
But he sees a need for a commission to set standards, review curriculum and give advice on Samoan language studies.
The governor says he will be calling a public meeting to gather input from the community on areas that should be addressed by the commisson.
He says that the commission would be the authority on new words that would be added to the Samoan language.
The governor said that this would standardize new Samoan words.
