Tattoo is a loanword from the Samoan word "tatau", meaning "to strike". The "Oxford English Dictionary" gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Before the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring or staining. The etymology of the body modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or performance — see "military tattoo". In this case, the English word "tattoo" is derived from the Dutch word "taptoe".
Tongan language right, a position halfway in between the two extremes above. Most papers still follow this practice. English, like most European languages, uses only two articles: By contrast, Tongan has three articles, and possessives also have a three-level definiteness distinction: There are three registers which consist of There are also further distinctions between For example, the phrase "Come and eat!" translates to: The Tongan language distinguishes 3 numbers: singular, dual, and plural. They appear as the 3 major columns in the tables below. The Tongan language distinguishes 4 persons: First person exclusive, first person inclusive, second person and third person. They