Gilbertese or Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese, a mixture of both) is a language from the Austronesian family, part of the Oceanian branch and of the Nuclear Micronesian subbranch. It is a verb object subject language. Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages used by some 351 million speakers. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... The family of Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages is a subgroup of the Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages. ... The Oceanic languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, containing approximately 450 languages. ... The family of Central-Eastern Oceanic languages is a subgroup of the Oceanic languages. ... The family of Remote Oceanic languages is a subgroup of the Central-Eastern Oceanic languages. ... The family of Micronesian Proper languages is a subgroup of the Micronesian languages. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of the sounds of human speech. ... Unicode is an industry standard designed to allow text and symbols from all of the writing systems of the world to be consistently represented and manipulated by computers. ... The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... The Oceanic languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, containing approximately 450 languages. ... Verb Object Subject - commonly used in its abbreviated form VOS - is a term in Linguistic typology. ...

Name

The word Kiribati (1954) is just the modern rendition for "Gilberts", so most people do not care about translating this name in English, or not. Description of the language as Gilbertese or Kiribatese could be sometimes considered a relic of colonial days by some I-Kiribati (the people of Kiribati) (no reference for that last opinion).

The official description is taetae ni Kiribati, or 'the Kiribati language'.

The first complete description of this language (and the first time ever one prints kiribati in a print book) was in Dictionnaire gilbertin-français of Father Ernest Sabatier (981p, 1954), a Catholic priest. This Dictionary has been translated into English later by Sister Olivia (with the help of South Pacific Commission). Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... SPC is a TLA that may stand for: St. ...

Speakers

About 105,000 people speak Gilbertese, 98,000 of whom live in Kiribati, about 97.2% of the entire population. The others are the inhabitants of Nui (Tuvalu), Rabi Island (Fiji), Mili (Marshall Islands) and some other islands where I-Kiribati have been relocated (Solomon Islands -notably Choiseul Province- and Vanuatu) or emigrated (to New Zealand and Hawaii mainly). Nui is one of the 9 districts (3 of them consist of 1 isle, 6 are atolls with several isles) of the Oceanian realm of Tuvalu. ... Rabi (IPA: []) is a volcanic island in northern Fiji. ... For a disambiguation page for Mili, see Myloi, an alternative spelling of Mili Mili Atoll is an atoll of 92 islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... Choiseul Province is one of the provinces of the Solomon Islands. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ...

Unlike many in the Pacific region, the Kiribati language is far from extinct, and just about all speakers use it daily. Only 30% of Kiribati speakers are fully bilingual with English, meaning that the language is in no current danger of being swallowed by the latter. For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Fishermen, sailors, farmers and people involved in the production of copra comprise the majority of Kiribati speakers. Angling is a method of fishing, specifically the practice of catching fish by means of an angle (hook). ... Three types of mariners are seen here in the wheelhouse: a master, an able seaman, and a harbour pilot. ... Farms, East of Gorgan, Iran. ... Copra drying in the sun Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ...

Linguistics and study

The Kiribati language has two main dialects: the Northern dialect and the Southern dialect. The main differences between them are in the pronunciation of some words. The islands of Butaritari and Makin also have their own dialect. It differs from the standard Kiribati in both vocabulary and pronunciation. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the languages speakers. ... Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Butaritari Atoll and part of Makin (upper right) Butaritari is an atoll located in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. ... Butaritari Atoll is an atoll of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. ...

The Kiribati language is written in the Latin alphabet, and has been since the 1840s, when Hiram Bingham Jr, a missionary, first translated the Bible into Kiribati. Previously, the language was unwritten. The letter "s" does not occur in the language; "ti" is used instead. The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... // Events and Trends Technology First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. War, peace and politics First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February... Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham II (August 16, 1831-October 25, 1908), was one of the first missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Kingdom of Hawaii. ... Two Mormon missionaries A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

One difficulty in translating the Bible was references to words such as "mountain", a geographical phenomenon unknown to the people of the islands of Kiribati at the time (only heard in the myths from Samoa). Bingham decided to use "hilly", which would be more easily understood. Such adjustments are common to all languages as "modern" things require creation of new words. The Gilbertese word for airplane is te wanikiba, "the canoe that flies". Lyskamm, 4 527 m, Pennine Alps A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... The panoramic view from Connors Hill, near Swifts Creek, Victoria A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. ...

Catholic missionaries would later arrive at the islands in 1888 and translate the Bible independently of Bingham, resulting in differences (Bingham wrote Jesus as "Iesu", while the Catholics wrote "Ietu") that would only be resolved in the 20th century (No 's' in the Kiribati alphabet). In 1954, Father Ernest Sabatier published the best English-Kiribati Dictionary: Dictionnaire Gilbertin-Français, 981p. (edited by South Pacific Commission in 1971). Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...

IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ...

Useful phrases

• Hello - Mauri
• Hello - [singular] Ko na mauri
• Hello - [plural] Kam na mauri
• How are you? - Ko uara?
• How are you? - [to several people] Kam uara?
• Thank you - Ko rabwa
• Thank you - [to several people] Kam rabwa
• Goodbye - Ti a bo (we will meet)

Notes

1. ^ http://www.trussel.com/kir/less10.htm

External links

• English/Kiribati and Kiribati/English translator with over 50,000 words
• Ethnologue report for Kiribati
• Gilbertese words collection for SuperMemo
• Dictionary with Gilbertese - English Translations from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition