Gilbertin

The gilbertin (vernacular name, Kiribati , marked) is a language of the group océanien, thus pertaining to the family of the Langues austronésiennes. With the English, the gilbertin is the Official language of the Republic of the Kiribati - statute recognized by the constitution of the July 12th 1979.

Kiribati It is a inflected Language (with more suffixes that prefixes) for some grammatical categories but where the particles (appointed essentially) play a considerable part and who practices also a Euphonie limited. 13 letters (and as much of Phoneme S): With, B, E, I, K, M, NR, NG, O, R, T, U and W. Palatisation of T in front of I and U (in certain regional accents). The modern C-W communication tends to distinguish two has different, by including one preceded by W nonmarked after B and M (example: mwaneaba instead of maneaba ). The word order is most of the time of type YOUR (Verb-Object-Subject), with an object which follows the verb immediately. Simple examples of sentences:

E built to you groin (there are many women, verb built preceded by a pronominal prefix E , “il/elle”, and followed you , article, and of groin , “woman”, cognate of vahine)

I kana you ika (I eat fish, verb kana preceded by a pronominal prefix I , in capital letter as in English, ika fish)

E matu Nareau (Nareau sleeps, verb matu preceded by E , Nareau ancestral divinity gilbertine)

antai aram? is (which your name? , of macaw name followed by the possessive suffix - m , “your”). -->

Name of the French language

The word “gilbertin” indicates, in French, the name of the people of the islands Gilbert, left principal the Republic of the Kiribati, as of all that is referred to it, in particular the Langue. In gilbertin, the old name, not very used nowadays, was: tungaru . The modern name of this language is you taetae nor Kiribati ( the language of the Kiribati ; Kiribati not being other than the word English Gilberts adapted to the Phonology of the gilbertin). The term “gilbertin” appeared in French with the translation of In the south seas ( In the South Seas , Robert Louis Stevenson, 1892). It must be used preferably with “gilbertais” (copies of English Gilbertese ) - one also finds a Kiribatese , or kiribatien , this last recommended by an official decree French of Terminologie (the Arrêté of November 4th, 1993).

Classification

The gilbertin is a language austronésienne, group of the Langues océaniennes, more precisely of the branch micronésienne. In the latter sub-group, it is the language most influenced by the Polynesian Langues close.

Geographical distribution

The gilbertin is also the spoken language with Rabi (islands Fiji) by deportees of the island Banaba (in the past Ocean), by the inhabitants of Nui (Tuvalu) like in one or two small islands of the Solomon and the Vanuatu (displaced persons by the British). The language is still practiced today by important groups of Gilbertins emigrated in New Zealand and in the islands Hawaii.

On the whole, this language is spoken by more 100 000 speakers.

Dialects

There exists little of dialectal variations (between the islands of north and the south), more between the dialects of Banaba and Rabi.

History

A Kiribati Language Board which sits at Tarawa-South regulates the evolutions of the language and its teaching. The Dictionary Gilbertin-French of the Father Ernest Sabatier, Tabuiroa, 1952 - 1954, remains the only work of importance (984 pages, + xii p.) between this language and a Western language. Translated into English, it is taken again in extenso by Steve Trussel on its Internet site.

Phonology and orthography

Alphabet

thirteen letters only: HAS, B, E, I, K, M, NR, NG, O, R, T, U, W ;
only one sound is represented by a digraph: NG ;
fourteen Latin letters are not used: C, D, F, G, H, J, L, P, Q, S, V, X, Y, Z;
however the use allows: Iesu Kristo, Santo, Santa and the Protestants also writes: Iehova ;
the letter V, distinct from W is more and more often used, W being used from now on to write has fatty.

Vowels

“Has” represents two different sounds, each one being able to be short or long (a long vowel = a double vowel).

1) With open: nearest to the sound “has” in French has . e.g.:

in short: tan tano kam taku nano kai rua raka;
long: taan (plural of tia) kaaki naano (plural) kaai waa taai.

2) With closed: not its French correspondent, æ , near to English “has” in cat (cat). e.g.:

in short: to compare the gilbertin built (much) with English beats (bat),
the gilbertin man (animal) with English man (man),
the anti gilbertin (spirit) with English ant (ant),
other examples: raba (hidden), aba (ground), bata (cants), bai (hand), tai (time), May (fruit),
long: maan (animal), maan (a long time), Ba (the lightning), Ba (sheet).

3) When opened is preceded by a B or a M, one obtains what the P. Ernest Sabatier calls “has fatty” (cf Sabatier, p. III). Previously written using a diacritic on has, it from now on is written “wa”, as in tabwakea (tortoise, old C-W communication: tabakea). This “fatty”, which should not be confused with the semi-consonant W preceding has, as in you wa (the dugout) has, makes the reading sometimes difficult.

it decides almost like “mwa”. To make pronounce by Gilbertin:
Ba (bwa) (oil) Ba (bwa) (rock) baene (bwaene) (basket) bana (bwana) (voice) bai (bwai) (thing) basket (mwane) (money) basket (mwane) (catches) basket (mwane) (male) May (mwai) (cooked) mae (mwae) (collar).

4) “E” decides like French “E”.

e.g. short: wetea (to call) you (article) tei (to be upright) keniken (to dig) Ben (coconut) ren (tree) teme (to suck) tamnei (image);
e.g. length: bero (bell) teei (child) betin (basin) Betio (island of the Gilbert) wewete (to call) ewewe (to jump) Ben (coconuts) Be (plait with ruoia)

5) “I” decides as in French.

e.g. short: timtim (drop) tina (mother) iti (flash) biri (to run) riri (loincloth) riki (to become) kiri (dog) biti (iron),
long:

Foot-note Bucket: “I” final after “T” is often deafened and almost dumb man, like the “E” final in French. The most known example is the modern name of the State, Kiribati, which decide (< of English Gilberts, Gilbert islands in the plural, marked), or the island Kiritimati which decide (< of English Christmas). Other examples: ATI eti oti iti uti. In front of M, U and W, “I” short becomes often deaf and is almost marked “U” (in the north of the Gilbert, it becomes straightforwardly “U”. Examples: mataniwi ataeinimane itiua kaniwanga unimane tariu.

6) “O” as in French.

e.g. short: bono (stopped) koro (to cross) ono (six) toro (servant) biroto (belly) nono (wall) bikoko (young coconut),
long: bo (meets) ro (black) KB (tight) will nora (see) Onotoa (island of the Gilbert) bou (nine, within the meaning of recent).

7) “U” like French “or” (“U” Latin).

e.g. short: (law) rua (pit) killed kun (skin) bubu (smoked),
long: buu (husband) buu (conch) uun (anger) uu (trap with rabono), Beru (island of the Gilbert).

Diphthongs

( recall: a Diphthong, they are two different successive vowels forming only one syllable, two sounds distinct pronounced from only one emission of voice. There do not exist true diphthongs in French )

there exists two kinds of diphthongs in gilbertin:

the 1st vowel is accentuated:

- have, I.E.(internal excitation), oi, cf tei (upright) tai (time) me (ripe coconut) - aai, eei, ooi cf taai (sun) teei (child) mooi (to drink) - ae, ao, with the cf bae (debt) with (my) the CAT (perhaps) - aae, aao, aau cf waau (my dugout) mataao (threshold) kaaea (to seek) - iu, have, or cf keu (to tear off) tou (fruit of the pandanus) biu (timorous) - iiu, eeu, oou cf beeu (my plait with ruoia) wiiu (my mouth) boou (nine)

the 2nd vowel is accentuated:

- aii, oii cf maii (white) baiiku (line) toii (giddiness) - ia, IE, io, iu cf tia (limit) kie (plait) tio (to float) itua (seven) - ua, ue, ui, uo cf tuanga (to say) uota (to carry) uua (fruit) uee (flower) buii (ten)

Note:

there exist triphthongs:

- iai cf iai (it there a) - ioi cf kioina (since) - iau cf tiau (my limit) - ieu cf kieu (my plait) - uau cf kuau (fish) - iei cf iein (marriage)

there exist made up vowels (two vowels forming only one its)

- ae its between “has” and “E”, different from “closed”. e.g. bae (debt) taetae (to speak) maem (soft) - ao its between “has” and “O” e.g. ao (line of fishing) CAT (saw) baoki (box) Foot-note Bucket: The diphthongs and the triphthongs (but also vowels made up) can also decide by separating the vowels, especially in the song, the declamation and to emphasize the direction of a mot.

Recapitulation: therefore, in all, eight sounds vowels, namely six simple vowels being able to be long or short: opened, closed, E, I, O and U; two made up vowels: ae and ao.

Consonants

“B” represents the intermediate sounds B and P and sounds. There are truths “B” (sound) (it is even the most frequent case). E.g.: buro (to boil) bore-hole (fault) buri (pus) butted (to extract) buti (to go) bubuti (request) drunk (to burn) and all “drunk” except at the end of the mot. benu (…) beti (collar) biro (to twist) fucked (to change), etc There are truths “p” (deaf) (less frequent). E.g.: bai (thing) biri (to run) Ben (coconut) beku (work) good (compost) bono (stopped) rebwe (to resound). Often the sound is intermediate (even the “p” should not be marked too vigorously…). A good pronunciation would range between the two. It is what the linguists call a “p sound” or a “B deaf”. For the pronunciation of “ba/bwa”, cf the vowel “has”, 3). “B” replaces sometimes the “v” in the foreign words.

“K” as in French or English, but less energetic. It can be slightly guttural and to approach “G” in front of “has” (“K sound”).

“M” as in French. However, for “ma/mwa”, cf the vowel “has”, 3).

“NR” as in French, but more in front of the palate: it is a dental consonant. Especially when “N” is geminated (doubled) and final.

“NG” not of French correspondent. Resemble English “ng” in sing (to sing) or singer (singer) but not finger, where G is understood. E.g.: kanganga (difficult), rongorongo (new, rumor), rengerenge (end), nganga (poisoning), ngongo (to scrape), ngongo (to speak), ngenge (to beg).

“R” different from French and English - slightly swindled, pronounced end of the language on before palate, almost dental. Exercise on the basis of “L” or better of “D”. The children say “madudung” for marurung, “didi” for riri, etc R replaces “R”, “L” and “D” in the introduced words.

“T” as in French in front of has, E, O and U (perhaps more dental). Like S in front of I (and in front of U in North) (1°).

“W” different from V and W English.

in front of has, like V: pronounced only end of the lips, without closing them, Tarawa, kawakawa, wanawana, wareware;
special in the groups BWE, MWE, e.g.: bwe, bwebwe, rebwe, mwemwe, iremwe, mweaka. In these two groups, it is almost a “O” which would be consonant;
almost V in the other groups WE, e.g.: wene, were, karewe.
Some old of Abemama and Kuria says: oene, oete, etc

NB: Useless to employ two letters W and V although V had been more representative. Currently, the use of V distinct from W becomes frequent.

Notes: 1° evolution of “TI” since old time: Ti, tsi, if; 2° WI should be written “ui”; it is undoubtedly the influence of W English which decided use.

Rules of euphony

1) Vowels.

There “has” cannot be more than two has after inside a mot. If the rule wants three has, it is necessary to intercalate an E euphonic before 3rd. Has cannot remove itself. E.g.: instead of butimaa-a: butimaaea. Instead of ka-have-have: kaaeai (4th). “I” It cannot there have more than two I after in only one mot. If a rule requires three or 4 of them, they are reduced to two (I long). E.g.: buti-iia: butiia (asks them). Katii-iia: katiia (shoot them).

2) Consonants.

1) doubles and finales: 1) only consonants M, NR and NG can be doubled (geminated); 2) only these three consonants can finish a word; all the words end either in a vowel, or by one of these three consonants; 3) a word cannot end in a double consonant. If the rule wants a consonant doubles final, one intercalates a “I” euphonic between the two; 4) e.g.: ran (water of well) ranna, but ranin you kai (and not, “rann you kai”) 5) or after the two consonants, according to the rule hereafter: 6) e.g.: ranin subdued you but ranni matau. 2) groups of consonants - there cannot be more than two consonants after. Only the following groups can meet: MB mba, namba, novemba, bambanta MK mka, amndt kai MN nimnana, nimna, amndt will nira Will MR. mrara, mronron, amndt ruffle? MT mtea, mtemte, amndt tai, nimta MW (only MWe) mwemwe, mwere, mweaka NR will nrara, kunra, tan reirei, mronron NT antai, kanta, barantiko, anti NGK ngkai, ngke, ngkoe, kangkang BW (only bwe) bwe, bwebwe

If it is necessary to employ other groups of consonants or more than three consecutive consonants, “I should be employed” euphonic. E.g.: instead of N koro: nor koro NR nang nako: NR nangi nako Kan matu: kani matu, etc

One needs also “I” euphonic at the end of a word in - NR or - NG followed by a word starting with I or U. E.g.: “good iangoia” is said: bonu iangoia NR nang iaki says NR nangi iaki NR uringa says nor uringa (naked uringa) E nang ua says E nangi ua

Note: In the “gilbertinized” words of foreign origin with consecutive consonants, one employs also other vowels. E.g. Petro = Betero Flour (flour) = burawa Britain (Great Britain) = Buritan Christmass (Christmas) = Kiritimati France = Buranti Prophet (prophet) = burabeti Presbyter (priest) = berebitero Film = birim Milk (milk) = miriki Silver = tirewa

Prosody and stressing

Like the Japanese for example, the gilbertin is a moric Langue: the Unit of Account in Prosodie is thus the More rather than the syllable.

It is possible to distinguish three kinds of accents: 1) the long syllables which make accent, not by the intensity but by the length. E.g.: boti eats: gather balayures Buti basket man you bua: leave under bag

2) there are syllables which, without being long nor stronger, have a purely rhythmic accent (something like the rhythmic ictus in lime pit song). E.g.: maräwa, wänawäna, will täratära Tékatéka, tékatékäna, tékétékanâki

3) it there with the syllable more accentuated than the others but whose intensity does not equalize the English accent or Italian. Meets especially in front of a doubled consonant. E.g.: ngkanne, kitanna, tuangnga, nimma.

NB: no the known rule to know where to stress; it can change according to the place of the word in the sentence or the length of the mot. E.g.: KB has rôko, KB â tia, uôta you bâei Often, there are two consecutive stressed syllables: 2) long: karaaii, kaootaa, kamimia; 3) long and short: kaakaki, kamiaki, will kaootaira; 4) two short: tätäro, kakänäto.

Grammar

Article

Only one article which gets busy only in the singular: “ you ”. It gets busy at the same time like definite article and indefinite.

E.g.: you aomata = the man (in general) - = the man (in question) - = a man (unspecified) - = a man (human) - = man! (vocative)

The article is removed: - in front of all plurals: you aomata: a man - aomata: men you wa: a dugout - wa: dugouts

- in front of the proper names: Ioane, Tekai, Kaiea, Terebu, Rerebu, Kabeia, Tarawa, Kiribati, Buritan, Atia, Amerika, Betio, Buariki, Roma, etc

- in front of the names with possessive: matau (my eye); matan Tiller (the eye of Simon); wana (its dugout); wan Toma (the dugout of Thomas); amndt auti (your house); ana auti tamau (the house of my father).

- in front of certain names considered as collectives (in the plural): karawa (sky); tai (sun); marawa (ocean); namakaina (the moon); dried up (sea); mone (hell, damages).

- in front of certain names indicating the direction (cardinal points, orientation): meang (Northern) tanimeang (left Northern) maiaki (Southern) tanimaiaki (left Southern) mainiku (Is) tanrake (east coast) maeao (Western) tanrio (west coast) eta (top) katea (side without beam of the dugout, “starboard”) nano (bottom, sea) rowed (side beam of the dugout, “port side”)

- in front of certain made up names indicating topography (under the terms of rule 2): aonaba (universe) anikaina (inhabited place (edge of the lagoon)) aontano (ground) matanikabi (mark the tide) nukaneaba (medium of the island)

Name

In addition to the names of people and objects, one can employ like names all the verbs and what one can call “adjectives”. ababaki (large, large being) you ababaki (size) amarake (to eat) you amarake (to eat it, food)

Distinction (to be retained for other chapters): - names of animated beings; - names of inanimate beings.

Plural The names do not change a form in the plural (invariable) but the article is always deleted. you aomata/aomata you maneaba/maneaba The names of one or two syllables lengthen their first syllable in the plural. you Ben/been you boki/booki you tina/tiina This lengthening does not intervene: - when the name has possessive: taama (fathers) but tamaia ataei, macaw tama; - when plural (name) is complement of another name: aia botaki taama (the meeting of the fathers) but you botaki N tama (a meeting of fathers); - after a verb indicating an action, manner of making: rikoi been aikai (collects these coconuts) but has riko Ben (they make the collecting of coconuts)

Name complement of another name

Three types of constructions, according to the direction: 27) to indicate the use or the contents of a thing, preposition “N”: you uma N takataka (the shelter with copra) you batoro (

Proper names

The geographical names (country, localities) take the prepositions “I”, “nako”, “May” (cf “prepositions”)

3) Names of people. - do not take the article (cf VII, 2); - there exist names for men: Kabeia, Kaiea, Tebao, Rerebu, Kaiuea (autochtones) Ioane, Betero (immigrants); - there are names for women: Teramira, Tabantia, Teekai, Tebarutu (car.), Ioana, Katarina (hello.) - NB: for North (Abemama, Marakei) - the same names are useful for the men and the women - the names of men are often preceded by: you, ten, tem, teng.

These two uses cause confusion: - difficult

Lexicon

Examples

Useful sentences

Hello - Mauri (means in fact Santé, as in the national currency)
Hello - singular KB Na mauri
Hello - plural Kam Na mauri
Comment are you? - Will KB uara? (literally the same direction)
Comment are you? - with several people - will Kam uara?
Thank you (I thank you) - KB rabwa
Au-revoir - Ti has bo ( we will be re-examined )

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