Marshallese Reference Grammar


Book Description

This reference grammar covers the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It is the result of a long and sustained effort, inexorably entwined with that of the Marshallese-English Dictionary, published in 1976. Following a general introduction that situates the islands and their people in the cultural and historical context of Micronesia, chapters examine the sound system of Marshallese and survey the more important characteristics of the two major parts of speech, nouns and verbs; a section on the nine major verb classes is included. Special attention is given to a complex set of directional adverbs used in predicates of all sorts and from which back-and-forth verbs are formed. The final chapter analyzes Marshallese sentences, focusing on the sentences themselves and on considerations that apply at the sentence level. The identification of five case relations and of verbs that are impersonal provides explanations for seeming problems of grammatical agreement. The grammar avoids technical terminology, especially in the early chapters, and is aimed at educated laypersons—teachers and college students—who either speak the language or are motivated to learn it. It is rich with examples for each topic, including words exemplifying the contrasts in the sound system and sentences that highlight special points and intricacies in constructions such as cleft sentences and the phenomenon known as switch reference.




Spoken Marshallese


Book Description

Spoken Marshallese is designed to fill the need for a basic text in the language of the Marshall Islands. It will give students a fluency in the language and a feeling for its structure, enabling him or her to converse freely on a broad range of subjects without additional formal instruction. The Marshallese-English Dictionary, by Takaji Abo, Byron W. Bender, Alfred Capelle, and Tony DeBrum, would be useful as a supplement to this text.




Marshallese-English Dictionary


Book Description

The Marshallese-English Dictionary contains almost 12,000 entries giving information on an estimated 30,000 Marshallese words. Built upon the information collected in earlier dictionaries, its entries are enriched with grammatical information and illustrative sentences. Many words not previously recorded have been added, both older words dealing with the lore of the islands and newer words that reflect the changing circumstances of life today. Following the recommendations made by a committee of Marshallese leaders in 1971, the words in this dictionary are spelled along traditional lines, but spellings have been regularized phonetically by computer. An English Finder List is provided to enable the user to easily locate terms for navigation, currents, weather, food preparation, games, and other important aspects of Marshallese culture. A special section lists more than 4,000 place names in the Marshall Islands. Scientific identifications are given for the names of plants, marine life, animals, and stars and constellations. Created to fill the need for a comprehensive dictionary in programs of bilingual education in the schools of the Marshall Islands, this work will also be of use to anthropologists and linguists specialising in the Pacific.







Mokilese-English Dictionary


Book Description

This dictionary, the first formal compilation of words in Mokilese, contains about 5,000 entries with English glosses, grammatical information, and illustrative sentences for selected entries. It was created to fill the need for a dictionary in programs of bilingual education in the schools Mokilese children attend. This work will also be of use to anthropologists and linguists specializing in the Pacific.




Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar


Book Description

This root-based dictionary of the Ilocano language is the most comprehensive dictionary produced of Ilocano (Iloko), the lingua franca of Northern Luzon, and historically the native language of the majority of Filipino immigrants to the United States. The body of the dictionary includes entries for roots and affixes with illustrative sentences, idioms, common derivations, and scientific names (when applicable). Ilocano synonyms are also furnished when appropriate. Derived words that undergo morphological fusion are listed as separate entries to facilitate lexical searches. There is also an affix cross-reference list to help the beginning student recognize root words. Unlike most dictionaries of Philippine languages, it has an extensive English to Ilocano section, information on the pre-Hispanic syllabary, and language maps of the Philippines showing where the largest concentration of Ilocano speakers reside. Of related interest: Let's Speak Ilokano, by Precy Espiritu




Climate Change and Tradition in a Small Island State


Book Description

The citizens of the Marshall Islands have been told that climate change will doom their country, and they have seen confirmatory omens in the land, air, and sea. This book investigates how grassroots Marshallese society has interpreted and responded to this threat as intimated by local observation, science communication, and Biblical exegesis. With grounds to dismiss or ignore the threat, Marshall Islanders have instead embraced it; with reasons to forswear guilt and responsibility, they have instead adopted in-group blame; and having been instructed that resettlement is necessary, they have vowed instead to retain the homeland. These dominant local responses can be understood as arising from a pre-existing, vigorous constellation of Marshallese ideas termed "modernity the trickster": a historically inspired narrative of self-inflicted cultural decline and seduction by Euro-American modernity. This study illuminates islander agency at the intersection of the local and the global, and suggests a theory of risk perception based on ideological commitment to narratives of historical progress and decline.




Carolinian-English Dictionary


Book Description

Carolinian is a member of the Trukic subgroup of the Micronesian group of Oceanic languages. This is the first English dictionary of the three Carolinian dialects spoken by descendants of voyagers who migrated from atolls in the Central Caroline Islands to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. This dictionary provides English definitions for almost 7,000 Carolinian entries and an English-Carolinian finder list. A special effort was made to include culturally important words, particularly those related to sailing, fishing, cooking, house building, traditional religion, and family structure. With this work, the compilers also establish an acceptable standard writing system with which to record the Carolinian language.







Ponapean-English Dictionary


Book Description

The Ponapean-English Dictionary contains approximately 6,750 Ponapean to English entries. Each entry includes a headword, grammatical information, and one or more English definitions. Where appropriate, alternate spellings of headwords, usage labels, phrase and sentence examples, loan source information, and cross-references to related workds are also provided. An English to Ponapean finder list containing approximately 4,200 entries is also included to enable the user to locate key English words used in the definitions in the Ponapean entries. Designed to serve as a reference volume for native speakers of the language, particularly for Ponapean educators working in bilingual programs, this work will also be of value to English-speaking students of Ponapean and to scholars of other Pacific languages and cultures. This dictionary was prepared as a companion volume to the Ponapean Reference Grammar by the same authors.