This post is based on Practical Marshallese by Peter Rudiak-Gould, a freely distributed, full-length textbook for learning the native language of the Marshall Islands. It has been used since 2004 as the official language manual for all volunteers in the WorldTeach Marshall Islands program, and it has formed the basis of language classes for Americans at Kwajalein Atoll. The 102 short lessons describe the grammar of the language in practical and familiar terms, and a glossary presents 1500 useful words.
I have, you have, I don’t have, you don’t have
– The way to say ‘I have,’ ‘you have,’ etc. in Marshallese is very different from English. There is no word for ‘have.’ Instead of saying ‘I have a pencil,’ you say ‘there is my pencil.’ Instead of saying ‘I don’t have a pencil’ you say ‘there is no my pencil.’ Use the words from Lesson 26 for ‘there is’ (‘ewōr’ or ‘elōñ’) and ‘there is no’ (‘ejjeḷọk’):
‘Have’
| Ewōr aō __ or Elōñ aō __ = | there is/my/__ | = I have a ____ |
| Ewōr aṃ __ or Elōñ aṃ __ = | there is/your(sing.)/__ | = You (singular) have a ____ |
| Ewōr an __ or Elōñ an __ = | there is/his,her,its/__ | = He, She, or It has a ____ |
| Ewōr an Marcy __ = or Elōñ an Marcy__ | there is/her/Marcy/__ | = Marcy has a ____ |
| Ewōr ad __ or Elōñ ad __ = | there is/our(incl.)/__ | = We (inclusive) have a ____ |
| Ewōr am __ or Elōñ am __ = | there is/our(excl.)/__ | = We (exclusive) have a ____ |
| Ewōr ami __ or Elōñ ami __ = | there is/your(plur.)/__ | = You (plural) have a ____ |
| Ewōr aer __ or Elōñ aer __ = | there is/their/__ | = They have a _____ |
‘Don’t Have’
| Ejjeḷọk aō __ = | there is no/my/__ | = I don’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk aṃ __ = | there is no/your(sing.)/__ | = You (singular) don’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk an __ = | there is no/his,her,its/__ | = He, She, or It doesn’t have a__ |
| Ejjeḷọk an Marcy __ = | there is no/her/Marcy/__ | = Marcy doesn’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk ad __ = | there is no/our(incl.)/__ | = We (inclusive) don’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk am __ = | there is no/our(excl.)/__ | = We (exclusive) don’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk ami __ = | there is no/your(plur.)/__ | = You (plural) don’t have a __ |
| Ejjeḷọk aer __ = | there is no/their/__ | = They don’t have a __ |
– To say ‘I will have a ___’ use ‘enaaj wōr/lōñ’ instead of ‘ewōr/elōñ.’ To say ‘I had a ___’ use ‘eaar wōr/lōñ’ or ‘ekar wōr/lōñ’ instead of ‘ewōr/elōñ.’ To say ‘I won’t have a ___’ use ‘enaaj ejjeḷọk’ instead of ‘ejjeḷọk’ To say ‘I didn’t have a ___’ use ‘eaar ejjeḷọk’ or ‘ekar ejjeḷọk’ instead of ‘ejjeḷọk.’
– You might notice that people say ‘I have,’ ‘You have,’ ‘Do you have?’ etc. in different ways when they are talking about food, drinks, vehicles, and many other things. If you want to know about this now, look at Lessons 66-80.
Vocabulary
| likatu | beautiful woman, beautiful (of women only) |
| ḷakatu | good-looking man, good-looking (of men only) |
| ijin | here |
| ijo | there, over there |
| ijōṇe | there (near you) |
| ijjuweo | there (far away) |
| ie | there (in the sense of, ‘the place we are talking about’) ex. A: Iaar etal ñan Mejit = I went to Mejit B: Kwaar ta ie? = What did you do there? |
| āinwōt juon | the same, never mind, it doesn’t matter |
| baru | crab |
| jako | gone, missing, lost, disappeared |
| dān | water, any liquid |
| dānnin ni | coconut juice |
| wiiken (from English) | weekend |
Language Tip
Interjections
Marshallese has a variety of ‘interjections’ (like ‘wow!’, ‘darn!’ etc. in English). Using them in the right situations, but not too liberally, will make you sound much more Marshallese. Here are some of the most common ones and their meanings:
ōrrōr / ōrrōrōr / ōllōl / ōllōlōl / edded / eddeded = annoyance, frustration
ōrōr = ‘oops’
ūkūk = annoyance
alo / aluo = telling someone that what they’re doing is annoying and unacceptable
warrar / warrarar = when you are surprised and impressed
ekōḷōk / wau (from English) = amazement, ‘wow’
āāāāā (like the ‘a’ in ‘pat,’ but harsh and nasal) = getting the attention of a child in order to scold him or her
io = surprise when something sudden and unexpected happens
sssss = shooing away animals
ooooo = ‘oh,’ ‘I see,’ ‘that’s interesting’ (when someone tells you something)
ooo,
iōp! = giving the signal for everyone to start something at the same
time
Practical Marshallese
- Glossary of Useful Words from Practical Marshallese
- Lesson 1: The letters and sounds of Marshallese
- Lesson 2: Beginning Marshallese Phrases
- Lesson 3: Numbers, time, age, and price
- Lesson 4: Marshallese Words from English
- Lesson 5: Marshallese Subject Pronouns
- Lesson 6: Verbs that work like adjectives
- Lesson 7: The present tense
- Lesson 8: The Past Tense
- Lesson 9: The future tense
- Lesson 10: Near future tense
- Lesson 11: Location
- Lesson 12: Object pronouns
- Lesson 13: The emphatic pronouns
- Lesson 14: Negatives
- Lesson 15: Wrapping up pronouns and tenses
- Lesson 16: Yes/No questions
- Lesson 17: Do you know?, Yes I know, No I don’t know
- Lesson 18: Can you?, Yes I can, No I can’t
- Lesson 19: Wh-questions
- Lesson 20: More about wh-questions
- Lesson 21: Definite and Indefinite Articles, and Plurals
- Lesson 22: Possessives
- Lesson 23: House of, time of, place of
- Lesson 24: With
- Lesson 25: I like, I don’t like
- Lesson 26: There is, there are, there are many
- Lesson 27: I have, you have, I don’t have, you don’t have
- Lesson 28: I have a pencil with me
- Lesson 29: I have one, I have two, I have many
- Lesson 30: Do you have?
- Lesson 31: Not yet and never
- Lesson 32: Perfect Past
- Lesson 33: Negative Perfect Past
- Lesson 34: Perfect Past Questions
- Lesson 35: Adverbs
- Lesson 36: Comparatives in Marshallese
- Lesson 37: After, before
- Lesson 38: More about questions
- Lesson 39: Which fish, what kind of fish, you and who else?
- Lesson 40: Conditionals in Marshallese
- Lesson 41: Directionals
- Practical Marshallese