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.
Big, bigger, biggest (Comparatives and superlatives)
Saying sentences like ‘I am bigger,’ ‘I am bigger than you,’ ‘I am the biggest’ works very much like in English. These are the words you need:
| -ḷọk* | -er | -tata | -est | jān | than |
For example:
| kilep | big | limo | fun |
| kilepḷọk (jān kwe) | bigger (than you) | limoḷọk (jān jerbal) | more fun (than working) |
| kileptata | the biggest | limotata | the most fun |
– There is one difference from English. If you have ‘jān’ (‘than’), then the ‘ḷọk’ or ‘tata’ is optional:
| Ekilep jān Aur = | it-big/from/Aur | = It is bigger than Aur |
| Ekilep jān aolep = | it-big/from/all | = It is the biggest |
– To say ‘much bigger,’ use ‘lukkuun’ (‘very’) for ‘much’:
| Elukkuun kilepḷọk (jān ña) = | it-very/big-er(/from/me) | = It is much bigger (than me) |
– You can also use ‘ḷọk’ and ‘tata’ on some verbs to get meanings that we would express differently in English:
| Ijeḷā eọñōd = | I-know/fish | = I know how to fish |
| Ijeḷāḷọk eọñōd (jān kwe) = | I-know-more/fish(/than/you) | = I am better at fishing (than you) |
| Ijeḷātata eọñōd = | I-know-most/fish | = I am the best at fishing |
| Ijaje eọñōd = | I-not know/fish | = I don’t know how to fish |
| Ijajeḷọk eọñōd (jān kwe) = | I-not know-more/fish(/than/you) | = I am worse at fishing (than you) |
| Ijajetata eọñōd = | I-not know-most/fish | = I am the worst at fishing |
– If you want to say ‘there are more NOUN,’ ‘there are the most NOUN,’ then use ‘elōñ’ with ‘ḷọk’ and ‘tata’:
| Elōñḷọk ek ilo Ṃajeḷ = (jān Amedka) | there are-more/fish/in /Marshall (/than/America) | = There are more fish in the Marshall Islands (than America) |
| Elōñtata ek ilo Ṃajeḷ = | there are-most/fish/in/Marshall | = There are the most fish in the Marshall Islands |
– You can also use ‘eḷap’ to make sentences like ‘it is bigger,’ ‘it is biggest’:
| Eḷap aō aetok jān kwe = | it-big/my/tall/than/you | = I am taller than you |
| Eḷap aṃ nañinmej jān ña = | it-big/your/sick/than/me | = You are sicker than me |
– Saying ‘less big,’ ‘least big’ works differently. See Lesson 95.
Dialogue
| A: Eṃṃan ke Jonathan ippaṃ? | A: Do you like Jonathan? |
| B: Elukkuun eṃṃan. Eṃṃanḷọk jān Bob. | B: I like him a lot. He’s better than Bob. |
| A: Kobwebwe* ke? Elukkuun eṃṃan Bob jān Jonathan. | A: Are you crazy? Bob is much better than Jonathan. |
| B: Ejab. Ejouj Jonathan jān Bob, im elukkuun jeḷāḷọk kajin ṃajeḷ. | B: No he’s not. Jonathan is nicer than Bob, and he speaks much better Marshallese. |
| A: Ak Bob eḷap an jeḷā eọñōd, eddeb, im basket jān Jonathan. | A: But Bob is better at fishing, husking coconuts, and playing basketball than Jonathan. |
| B: Kwōj ṃool, ak eṃṃantata Jonathan ippa bwe eḷakatutata. | B: You’re right, but I like Jonathan best because he’s the best-looking. |
Vocabulary
| aṃwin | to wash one’s hands |
| bakōj (from English) | bucket |
| ṃoktata | first (in a series of things) |
| āliktata | last (in a series of things) |
| jaki | mat |
| kōjak | joke, funny, strange Ex. Ekōjak = It’s funny Ex. Ij kōṃṃan kōjak = I’m making a joke/I’m just kidding |
| juuj (from English) | shoe |
| keinabbu | papaya |
| kiaj (from English) | gas |
| jeḷā ṃanit | polite |
| jaje ṃanit or ñak ṃanit | rude |