Let me introduce this post. One of the posts on this blog is about Trump's "covfefe" blunder (
click). The mistake was ridiculed and mocked on the Internet and social media. In an attempt by many to try and come up with a possible meaning, a likely origin, or etymology of the word based on phonetics, syntax and morphology, Samoan seemed to have been the consensus. And so I also put in my two cents/sene post, citing words such as "kafefe" as a possible variant or cognate. In the same mold of "kafefe/kofefe", therefore, I also mentioned "kofifi" and "kofafa" - as homographs (for lack of a better word) - more for parody than reality. Anyhow,
Anonymous came along, thinking that I was a palagi, and posted his/her comment (below), to which I am responding here. Enjoy.
(Note: I'm posting this here due to the limits on the number of characters in the "Reply" box in the Comments section.)
ANONYMOUS:
"No comments.... because your article sucks...For all your pontificating, Kofafa is actually Tofa Soi Fua...No such word as Kofafa....Palagi valea!"
RESPONSE:
Mālō Anonymous. Fa'afetai mo le manatu. Fai mai le isi upu masani,
"Atonu oute le ‘au pe ioe i lau faamatalaga, peita'i oute matuā puipui/lagolagoina se'ia o'o i le oti lau āiā tatau e te faia ai lau faamatalaga." (I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.) O le a ou taumafai fo'i e āloā'ia ma fa'aāloālogia lou finagalo. E maitau atu, o ‘oe o se uso poo se tuafafine Sāmoa, e ātagia mai i lau gagana ma lou taumafai e fa'asa'o se sasi, sesē poo se 'aleu. E fa'apenei la, o le a fa'a su'ifefiloi atu le ta talanoaga, using both English and Samoan. You seem well-versed and proficient in both. Let me also compartmentalize my response based on the points you raised.
...Palagi valea!
First, let me get this out of the way. I'm
not a pālagi, let alone a "pālagi valea" (stupid foreigner/white person). O le makuā Sāmoa māo'io'i a si kama. Get it? Ia
Fahafehtaheee!!🤣 I have the feeling that you are a new visitor to the blog otherwise you would have known about other introductory and biographical posts in which I officially declared that I am a dyed-in-the-wool Samoan. Believe Me. ( My Trump impression 🤣)
No comments....because your article sucks
I have more than 400 total posts in the blog, and only a small number has comments, the rest have none, like this "covfefe" one - until you commented of course. Your assumption is that, if a post does not have comments, then it sucks - whatever you mean by that. For your information, comments do not necessarily represent a measure of whether an article/postup/opinion sucks or not. Furthermore, there have been those who have actually shared many of the posts from this blog but have not left any comments. Well, what say you? So your logic is elementary if not blatantly valea. 😊.. sorry your word not mine.
...For all your pontificating
Everyone pontificates at one time or another, otherwise he/she will end up either as a passive thinker or a "capitulater". For the particular post in question, mind you, I'm not pontificating but POSTULATING, instead. Big difference, dude.
Postulate/Postulating: suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief
(Dictionary.com).
Ua e tau malamalama mai? Read the post again and you will see "postulating" written all over it. In fact, I did preface the main part of my prognostication with
"Well, president, here’s my take." Yep, "take" as in "suggestion" or "assumption" (re: definition of "postulating" above).
...No such word as Kofafa
You're right, but you're also more wrong - than right. So therefore I disagree more than agree!
First of all, my use of "kofafa" is based on humor using the same morphological syntactic pattern
(mamanu o fa'atulagaga o fasi'upu) of "kofefe" and "kofifi" (the latter also being mentioned in the post); hence the "kofafa" variant using the vowel-based pattern. It's like some manufactured cognates. So "kofofo" would logically fit in there as well. Unfortunately, the last vowel (u), however, would render an expletive in Samoan.
But in Samoan, there is still a word spelled "kofafa" but with a stress on the last syllable, when pronounced and written this way "kofafā". It's the plural form of "kofā/tofā" which is the polite form of the vernacular "moe" (sleep). Example (in the "k" pronunciation/method):
"O la ua kofafā le ‘au malaga ua vāivāi." (The traveling party are sleeping because they're tired.)
Moreover, "kofafa" (as in "momoe", plural form of "moe") is also a valid and bona fide word (at least in morphological syntax) especially for those who are opponents and critics of diacritics (pun intended), especially the macron (fa'amamafa), and therefore rely solely and exclusively on context for meaning and pronunciation. In other words in a diacritic-less text, you can and will find that there IS such a word as "kofafa".
Incidentally, "kofafa" may not be a Samoan word, per se, at least not yet - officially. But there
IS such a word in other languages. For example, in Malagasy, a language spoken by the people of Madagascar, "kofafa" is a word for tall grass from which
kofafa brooms are made (Google it!). What's interesting though with regards to our debate is that Malagasy is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family. So since you did not qualify your comment ("No such word as Kofafa") to refer to a Samoan connection, exclusively, your claim is therefore erroneous, and ...hmmm ... valea.😛
...Kofafa is actually Tofa Soi Fua
Now you sound more like a "pālagi valea"🤣 ... I thought you were a smart Samoan.
"Tofa Soi Fua" is actually "Tōfā Soifua". Yes, "soifua" is one word. There is also a big difference in how you would say "Tōfā Soi Fua" versus "Tōfā Soifua." Got it?
Again, thanks for commenting!👍
God bless and ... tōfā loa fa'a-soifuaina!
ADDENDUM:
Oh and by the way, you obviously referred to me as a "
pālagi valea". Now that I've told you that I'm not a
pālagi, naturally, therefore, your "
valea" (stupid) accusation still stands. Well, I've responded to your claims and proved to you that - as the Samoan expression goes -
"e lē vālea fo'i gei fāgau." 😜 So if you were a
reaaaallly smart and intelligent person, as you seem to suggest in your accusations, then you would come back and rebut my response. I hope you have peeked around my blog enough by now to know that I have been involved in a lot of debates, discussions and other conversations on a whole slew of topics. You would therefore learn that I don't shy away from such discussions - analytical, intellectual, stimulating, etc. I am a fair-minded person also when it comes to these such debates. Again, therefore, I hope that you would come back and respond to my views, opinion and reasoning, as opposed to resorting and being content with the "ambush" tactic - which is similar to a hit and run - that you seem to favor. Such tactics are especially attractive to those who would hide their real identities, as in your case, as opposed to those who show their faces and take responsibility for their words and views. Personally, I am more desirous for you to respond than to "show your face" because I believe in personal accountability and answerability. What I mean by that is, even if others don't know of your true identity, inadequacies and vulnerabilities from this exchange, especially from failing to defend your views and claims, you yourself are still the only one that is in full realization and understanding of them - an epiphanic moment of self-awareness, i se isi fa'aupuga. It lives with you and you only. Hence, it could also be a much needed learning moment for you, one for which you would thank me. Ae pule lava lau susuga/afioga, ua na o se fautuaga e tu'uina atu. Soifua ia.✋✋
