THE Tārava (Macron)

1. What is the tārava?

The tārava is a diacritical mark used in Tahitian to indicate the length of a vowel.
It is a small horizontal line placed above a vowel: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū.

2. Role of the tārava in pronunciation

• In Tahitian, the length of the vowel changes the meaning of a word.

• A vowel with a tārava is pronounced longer than a vowel without it.

3. Examples

| Word without tārava | Word with tārava | Meaning |

| ------------------- | ---------------- | ------- |

| *tane* | *tāne* | man |

| *fatu* | *fātu* | stone |

| *papa* | *pāpa* | father |

4. Importance of the tārava

• It serves to distinguish words that would otherwise be homophones.

• For example, tane (without tārava) can be different from tāne (with tārava).

• It is therefore essential for correct understanding and to respect the phonetic richness of Tahitian.

5. How to pronounce a vowel with a tārava?

• You need to hold the vowel longer, almost as if you are singing it.

• For example, tāne is pronounced taa-neh (the first vowel is lengthened).

6. Written use

• The tārava is often used in official texts, dictionaries, and to help learners pronounce words correctly.

• In more informal writing, it may sometimes be absent, but its use is recommended to avoid confusion.

Conclusion

The tārava is a key element of Tahitian spelling to mark vowel length, and it plays an important role in pronunciation and word meaning.