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Marshallese Language



Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ

The Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ) is located in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is home to more than 68,000 Marshallese. The most populous atoll is Majuro, which is also the capital city. The Marshall Islands is one of several Pacific countries that use US Dollar. American, Japanese, German, Russian, and British had visited, settled, and even colonialized these Micronesian islands in the late 1700s. While the local population is mostly indigenous, there a numerous mixed of Japanese, American, and German Marshallese

Io̧kwe Marshallese

Marshallese language (Kajin M̧ajeļ) is the official language alongside with English. There are about 54,000 Marshallese speakers from the Marshall Islands and other countries, including Nauru and the United States. Check out Practical Marshallese by Peter Rudiak-Gould and "Marshallese Language Training Manual" by Richard Cook.

Armij otemjej rej rujlok ilo anemkwoj im jonon utiej eo im maron ko air wot juon. Emwij lelok non ir maron in bukot non ir make im bareinwot boklikot kin men ko rej tomaki im bwe jerbal non dron ilo juon jitobon jimpenjatin.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Marshallese vocabulary
  1. aaet - Yes 
  2. aelōn̄ - Atoll, or island; the word for land in general 
  3. ej et am̧ mour - How are you? (Literally, "How is your life doing?") Notice that the m̧ assimilates before the m. 
  4. em̧m̧an - (It) is good. 
  5. enana - (It) is bad. 
  6. io̧kwe; yokwe - Hello, goodbye and love, similar to the Hawaiian aloha; also an expression of sympathy. Its literal, archaic meaning is "You are a rainbow" 
  7. irooj - Iroij, the various paramount chieftains of Marshallese culture 
  8. jaab - No. 
  9. kom̧m̧ool tata - Thank you very much. Kom̧m̧ool alone means "thank you". 
  10. kōn jouj - You're welcome. Literally "for kindness". 
  11. Kūrjin - Christian: The majority religion of the Marshall Islands





What do you think about the Marshallese language? Do you know other Pacific language? Thanks for reading. Feel free to share this article if you like. If you have any opinions, please leave a comment. I love reading them.

Photo credit
Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca Flickr via Compfight cc

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