Taetae ni Kiribati
Gilbertese
Austronesian (Micronesian)
Gilbertese (Te taetae ni Kiribati) is the national language of Kiribati and has an unusually small consonant inventory of only about 13 consonants; combined with a five-vowel system that distinguishes length, this gives it roughly 23 phonemes overall. It is also the only major Micronesian language with significant communities outside its core area, with established speaker bases in Fiji's Rabi Island (resettled Banabans) and Solomon Islands' Choiseul. Gilbertese has VOS word order and a rich Austronesian system of inclusive/exclusive pronouns and possessive classifiers.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Gilbertese
Water
ran
/ɾan/
Fire
ai
/ai/
Sun
taai
/taːi/
Moon
namwakaina
/namʷakaina/
Star
itoi
/iˈtoi/
Mother
tinau
/tinau/
Father
tamau
/tamau/
I
ngai
/ŋai/
You
ngkoe
/ŋkoe/
Name
ara
/ˈara/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hand
bai
/bai/
Heart
nano
/nano/
Love
tangira
/taŋiɾa/
Tree
kai
/kai/
House
auti
/auti/
Dog
kamea
/kamea/
Cat
katu
/katu/
Eat
amwarake
/amʷaɾake/
Drink
nima
/nima/
One
teuana
/teuana/
Two
uoua
/uˈoua/
Hello
mauri
/mauɾi/
Thank you
ko rabwa
/ko ɾabʷa/
Good
raoiroi
/ɾaoiɾoi/
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Micronesian) languages
| Meaning | Gilbertese | Rapanui | Tuvaluan | Cook Islands Māori | Niuean | Tokelauan | Atoni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ran /ɾan/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | vai /vai/ | oe /oe/ |
| Fire | ai /ai/ | ahi /ahi/ | afi /afi/ | ahi /ahi/ | afi /afi/ | afi /afi/ | ai /ai/ |
| Sun | taai /taːi/ | raʻā /raʔaː/ | laa /laː/ | rā /raː/ | lā /laː/ | la /la/ | manas /manas/ |
| Moon | namwakaina /namʷakaina/ | mahina /mahina/ | masina /masina/ | marama /marama/ | mahina /mahina/ | malama /malama/ | fun /fun/ |
| Star | itoi /iˈtoi/ | hetuʻu /heˈtuʔu/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ | etū /eˈtuː/ | fetū /feˈtuː/ | fetu /fetu/ | kfu /kfuʔ/ |
| Mother | tinau /tinau/ | matuʻa vahine /matuʔa vahine/ | maatua /maːtua/ | māmā /maːmaː/ | matua fifine /matua fifine/ | mātua /maːtua/ | ainaf /ainaf/ |
| Father | tamau /tamau/ | matuʻa tāne /matuʔa taːne/ | tamana /tamana/ | pāpā /paːpaː/ | matua taane /matua taːne/ | tamana /tamana/ | amat /amat/ |
| I | ngai /ŋai/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | au /au/ |
| You | ngkoe /ŋkoe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | koe /koe/ | ho /ho/ |
| Name | ara /ˈara/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ | igoa /iˈŋoa/ | ingoa /iˈŋoa/ | higoa /hiˈŋoa/ | igoa /iŋoa/ | kanan /ˈkanan/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | matan /matan/ |
| Hand | bai /bai/ | rima /ɾima/ | lima /lima/ | rima /ɾima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | ʼniman /ʔniman/ |
| Heart | nano /nano/ | mahatu /mahatu/ | fatu /fatu/ | ngākau /ŋaːkau/ | fatu /fatu/ | fatu /fatu/ | nesa /nesa/ |
| Love | tangira /taŋiɾa/ | hanga /haŋa/ | alofa /alofa/ | aro'a /aɾoʔa/ | fakaalofa /fakaalofa/ | alofa /alofa/ | nekat /nekat/ |
| Tree | kai /kai/ | tumu rākau /tumu raːkau/ | laakau /laːkau/ | rākau /raːkau/ | akau /akau/ | lakau /lakau/ | hau /hau/ |
| House | auti /auti/ | hare /haɾe/ | fale /fale/ | 'are /ʔaɾe/ | fale /fale/ | fale /fale/ | ume /ume/ |
| Dog | kamea /kamea/ | paihega /paiheŋa/ | kuli /kuli/ | kurī /kuɾiː/ | kuli /kuli/ | kuli /kuli/ | asu /asu/ |
| Cat | katu /katu/ | kati /kati/ | pusi /pusi/ | ngiao /ŋiao/ | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | mose /mose/ |
| Eat | amwarake /amʷaɾake/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | kai /kai/ | ah /ah/ |
| Drink | nima /nima/ | unu /unu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | inu /inu/ | ninu /ninu/ |
| One | teuana /teuana/ | tahi /tahi/ | tasi /tasi/ | ta'i /taʔi/ | taha /taha/ | tahi /tahi/ | mese /mese/ |
| Two | uoua /uˈoua/ | rua /ˈrua/ | lua /ˈlua/ | rua /ˈrua/ | ua /ua/ | lua /lua/ | nua /ˈnua/ |
| Hello | mauri /mauɾi/ | ʻiorana /ʔioɾana/ | taalofa /taːlofa/ | kia orāna /kia oɾaːna/ | fakaalofa atu /fakaalofa atu/ | malo ni /malo ni/ | neut /neut/ |
| Thank you | ko rabwa /ko ɾabʷa/ | maururu /mauɾuɾu/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | meitaki /meitaki/ | fakaaue /fakaaue/ | fakafetai /fakafetai/ | neno biluk /neno biluk/ |
| Good | raoiroi /ɾaoiɾoi/ | riva /ɾiva/ | lei /lei/ | meitaki /meitaki/ | mitaki /mitaki/ | lelei /lelei/ | malaek /malaek/ |
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