Tahiti is an island in the South Pacific Ocean, the largest island of French Polynesia, which is governed by France. Its main town is Papeete. People there speak French and Tahitian, and the money is the Pacific franc — small facts that surprise learners who expect a Pacific island to feel English-speaking. In English, though, Tahiti is not only a place on a map. It is one of those names that carries a feeling with it: warm sea, green mountains, flowers, a long way from work. When someone says "I wish I were in Tahiti right now", they are not really planning a trip; they mean they want to be somewhere far away and beautiful. That use is common and friendly, and you will meet it in conversation more often than the geography. The word is always capitalised. Say it ta-HEE-tee. The adjective and the word for the people is Tahitian — Tahitian dance, a Tahitian woman. One honest note: because the island is famous for being beautiful, English speakers sometimes talk about it as if it were a picture rather than a place where about two hundred thousand people live ordinary lives, go to school, and sit in traffic in Papeete.