Tuvalu Language Week kicks off today, with the theme "Tau gana ko tou IIoga – Language is your identity".
The Polynesian island nation, previously known as the Ellice Islands, sits in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia.
Pacific People's Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says Tuvalu Language Week encourages the importance of keeping Pacific languages alive.
"The proportion of Pacific people speaking their languages is declining, so it is important that we support communities to keep their languages and their cultures alive."
More than 3500 Tuvaluans call New Zealand home, with half born in New Zealand. Of those, 65 percent speak the language.
There are around 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers globally.
The language is distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, but predominantly Samoan after the impact of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
There have been seven Pacific language weeks throughout 2015, starting with Samoa Language Week in May and finishing with Tokelau Language Week in October.
A service was held in Henderson, west Auckland this morning, which will be followed by an elderly people's celebration, flag-raising ceremony and traditional performances from youth throughout the week.
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