Religious, political and educational factors in the development of biliteracy in the kingdom of tonga

The Kingdom of Tonga is unusual not only in its high level of literacy but also in the fact that the literacy is in large measure in the vernacular language. Written Tongan is used for religious, governmental, informational, commercial, and personal functions: written English for external relations, higher level administration, and education. While the educational system is encouraging the learning of English, it is maintaining emphasis on the Tongan language.