Reviewer, editor, pagecreator
62,153
edits
Kiribati Languages: Difference between revisions
m
→Description: creating language page
m (→Description: creating language page) |
m (→Description: creating language page) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
Many other loanwords have been adopted (like ''buun'', spoon, ''moko'', smoke, ''beeki'', pig, ''batoro'', bottle) but some typical Gilbertese words are quite common, even for European objects (like ''wanikiba'', plane – the flying canoe, ''rebwerebwe'', motorbike – for the motor noise, ''kauniwae'', shoes – the cow for the feet). <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Kiribati," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati#Languages, accessed 2 February 2021.</ref> | Many other loanwords have been adopted (like ''buun'', spoon, ''moko'', smoke, ''beeki'', pig, ''batoro'', bottle) but some typical Gilbertese words are quite common, even for European objects (like ''wanikiba'', plane – the flying canoe, ''rebwerebwe'', motorbike – for the motor noise, ''kauniwae'', shoes – the cow for the feet). <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Kiribati," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati#Languages, accessed 2 February 2021.</ref> | ||
Over 96% of the 110,000 people living in Kiribati declare themselves I-Kiribati and speak Gilbertese. Gilbertese is also spoken by most inhabitants of Nui (Tuvalu), Rabi Island (Fiji), and some other islands where I-Kiribati have been relocated (Solomon Islands, notably Choiseul Province; and Vanuatu), after the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme or emigrated (to New Zealand and Hawaii mainly). | |||
Unlike some other languages in the Pacific region, the Gilbertese language is far from extinct, and most speakers use it daily. 97% of those living in Kiribati are able to read in Gilbertese, and 80% are able to read English. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Gilbertese language," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbertese_language#Speakers, accessed 2 February 2021.</ref> | |||
'''Countries by number of Gilbertese speakers''' <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Gilbertese language," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbertese_language#Countries_by_number_of_Gilbertese_speakers, accessed 2 February 2021.</ref> | |||
# Kiribati, 110,000 (2015 census) | |||
# Fiji, 5,300 cited 1988 | |||
# Solomon Islands, 4,870 cited 1999 | |||
# New Zealand, 2,115 cited 2013 | |||
# Nauru, 1,500, then 500 cited 2011 | |||
# Tuvalu, 870 cited 1987 | |||
# Vanuatu, 400 | |||
# Hawaii, 141 (2010 US census) | |||
==Word List(s)== | ==Word List(s)== | ||