Recent research suggests that the languages of Pukapuka, Tokelau and Tuvalu group together as a cluster, and as such had significant influence on several of the Polynesian Outliers, such as Tikopia and Anuta, Pileni, Sikaiana (all in the Solomon Islands) and the Takuu Atoll in Papua New Guinea.

There is also evidence that Pukapuka had prehistoric contact with Micronesia, as there are quite a number of words in Pukapukan that appear to be borrowings from Kiribati (K. & M. Salisbury conference paper, 2013).

Pukapukan is also known as "te leo Wale" ('the language of Home') in reference to the name of the northern islet where the people live.

Literacy in the Pukapukan language was introduced in the school in the 1980s, resulting in an improvement in the quality of education on the atoll.

[4] The most significant publication in the Pukapuka language will be the "Puka Yā" (Bible), with the New Testament and Psalms (diglot edition, Pukapukan and English) expected to be published in early 2024.

[needs update] Pukapukan is the language spoken on the coral atoll of Pukapuka, located in the northern section of the Cook Islands [5] Pukapukan shares minor intelligibility with its national language of Cook Islands Maori, and bears strong links to its neighboring Western Polynesian cultures specifically Samoa.

Local oral tradition records that huge waves generated by a severe cyclone washed over the island and killed most of the inhabitants except for 15–17 men, 2 women and an unknown number of children.

Like many other Polynesian languages, Pukapukan uses a lot of full and partial reduplication, some times to emphasize a word or to give it new meaning.

[10] KoPRDokuIteneithiskoPRDVakayala.VakayalaKo oku tenei ko Vakayala.PRD I this PRD VakayalaThis is me, Vakayala.KoPRDkoeyoukoiaexactlytēnāthatnaTAMlangainauproot-CIAtokumykongá?place-DAKo koe koia tēnā na langaina toku kongá?PRD you exactly that TAM uproot-CIA my place-DAWas that indeed you who uprooted my garden?KoPRDaiANAPH.PNtēlāthateTAMyaelé.walk-DAKo ai tēlā e yaelé.PRD ANAPH.PN that TAM walk-DAWho is that walking over there?KoPRDtonahisteinabrotherteia.thisKo tona teina teia.PRD his brother thisThis is his brother.KoPRDteARTliliangerteiathisoPOSSteARTwīalllōpā.youthKo te lili teia o te wī lōpā.PRD ART anger this POSS ART all youthThis was [why] all the youths were angry.The demonstrative subject may separate the head from the possessive phase when the nominal predicate is a complex phrase whose head is modified by a postposed possessive phrase, as shown in example 6 below.

[11] ĒnāiThistokumymanako,thoughtkaTAMwōgo.PLtāuawe.DUkiGteARTkeonga,pointtunucookiACCaPOSStāuawe.DUmanubirdnei.hereĒnāi toku manako, ka wō tāua ki te keonga, tunu i a tāua manu nei.This my thought TAM go.PL we.DU G ART point cook ACC POSS we.DU bird hereThis is my idea, let's go to the point and cook our birds.ĒnāthatakeDIRteARTpuká.book-DaĒnā ake te puká.that DIR ART book-DaPlease pass that book there.ĒlāthatteARTwekeoctopuskoaTAMlelerunkiGlotoinsideoPOSSteARTpū.holeĒlā te weke koa lele ki loto o te pū.that ART octopus TAM run G inside POSS ART holeOver there's an octopus fleeing to his hole.Eiahere.withtauyourkapucupkaope.coffeeEia tau kapu kaope.here.with your cup coffeeHere is your cup of coffee [handing it over]The demonstrative particles can also form compounds with the preposition ki- ‘to.’ These compounds can be used as a substitute (pro-form) for locational nouns.

[12] The compound kiai is formed by joining the case marker ki (meaning ‘to’) to the anaphoric pronoun ai.

[15] Mai indicates real or implied movement in the direction of the speaker, for example:[16] TeketekeREDUP-movemaiDIRkaiG-ARTakuInei.hereTeketeke mai kai aku nei.REDUP-move DIR G-ART I hereMove a little closer to me.AuwēNEG.IMPkoeyoueTAMtāpitāpisprinklemai,DIRkaTAMyuyūwettokumykākawu.clothes.Auwē koe e tāpitāpi mai, ka yuyū toku kākawu.NEG.IMP you TAM sprinkle DIR TAM wet my clothes.Don't splash water on me in case my clothes get wet.Atu can indicate physical movement away from the speaker, as in:[16] YoloyoloREDUP-moveatuDIRkoeyoukiGteARTtoeotherkaokao.sideYoloyolo atu koe ki te toe kaokao.REDUP-move DIR you G ART other sideMove away from me to the other side.and for verbs of perception and communication can also indicate direction away from the deictic centre, for example:[16] KoTAMtātāwriteatuDIRiānahekiaG-ARTkoe?youKo tātā atu iāna kia koe?TAM write DIR he G-ART youDoes he write to you?Atu can also encode temporal progression away from the present.

[19] AumaibringakeDIRtakumypālaknifenā.thereAumai ake taku pāla nā.bring DIR my knife therePlease pass my knife [that you have].KokotoR-gruntakeDIRtāPOSSkōtouyouīmenesongnātherekeClangona.hearKokoto ake tā kōtou īmene nā ke langona.R-grunt DIR POSS you song there C hearPlease start your song so [we] can hear [it].AuwāprobablykoTAMleleigoodwuajustkōtouyouiLOCWalehomenā.there.Auwā ko lelei wua kōtou i Wale nā.probably TAM good just you LOC home there.I hope you are all well there in Pukapuka [where you are].Lā 'away from both speaker and addressee; intensifier' may only occur with a directional meaning in verb phrases, not in noun phrases.

'[20] For example: LukudivelātherekoeyoukiGteARTwatu.stoneLuku lā koe ki te watu.dive there you G ART stoneDive down to the rock.In Pukapukan, demonstrative predicates take on a number of roles and functions.

ĒneihereloaINTteARTtaimetimekoTAMvelavela.RR-hotĒnei loa te taime ko velavela.here INT ART time TAM RR-hotThis is really the time when [the food] is hot.Kaliawait-CIAwua,justēneiherenaTAMpau.finishKalia wua, ēnei na pau.wait-CIA just here TAM finishJust wait, [I'm nearly] finished.In narratives, demonstrative predicates may be used to set the scene for an imminent event, such as: ĒneihereikicarrynāARTvakacanoeĒnei iki nā vakahere carry ART canoeHere [they were] carrying the canoes.They may also function as an affirmation seeker or used to describe or explain an aside in real time to listeners and readers.

Ēnei,herenaTAMtiketikeRR-highaiPROteARTlangiskykiGlungaupnei.hereĒnei, na tiketike ai te langi ki lunga nei.here TAM RR-high PRO ART sky G up hereThus, the sky is high up above.Ēlā,therekoTOPteARTtangatapersonnaTAMuwiuwiaRR-cover-CIAnaARTpulú,husk-DA,koPRDTepou.TepouĒlā, ko te tangata na uwiuwia na pulú, ko Tepou.there TOP ART person TAM RR-cover-CIA ART husk-DA, PRD TepouYou know, that person who was turning over those husks, it was Tepou.In particular, eia can be used to set apart narrative clauses from backgrounding comments and is also used as a marker which concludes a narrative.

These include pēnei ‘like this,’ pēnā ‘like that [by you],’ pēlā ‘like that [over there]’ and peia ‘like so [being demonstrated]’ can modify a predicate, function as verbs, denote modality, introduce direct or indirect speech or stand as a pro-form for a prepositional phrase.

Pattern 1 generally corresponds to ‘near speaker, or deictic centre.’[23] For example: KoTAMiLOClotoinsideoPOSSteARTpiaboxnei.here.Ko i loto o te pia nei.TAM LOC inside POSS ART box here.

Although, today speakers of the language, locals of Pukapuka, and especially teachers on the island are working to put together books and resources dedicated to the teaching and structure of Pukapukan.

[24] Currently there are a select number of manuscripts and dictionaries on the language of Pukapukan, but their culture is kept alive through music and dance collaborations across the pacific and websites like YouTube.

[24] Per the Te Reo Maori Act, Pukapukan is deemed to be a form of Cook Islands Māori for legal purposes.