Samoan is the English word we hang on Samoa — the South Pacific islands of Savaiʻi and Upolu, capital Apia, independent, and called Western Samoa until 1997. As a noun, a Samoan is a person from those islands, and Samoan is also the language. As an adjective, Samoan food, a Samoan village, Samoan custom means “of that place.” The country itself is Samoa, not Samoan; English just adds -an, the way we make American from America. Though actually, American Samoa is a different place next door, a United States territory, and people from there may also be called Samoan — the word follows the people and the islands, not only one passport.