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.
There is an extremely useful word in Marshallese: ‘bar.’ The basic meaning is ‘again,’ and you put it before the verb:
| Ij bar kōṃṃane = | I-PRES/again/do-it | = I am doing it again |
| Iban bar kōṃṃane = | I-will not/again/do-it | = I won’t do it again |
– With some words, we would translate it instead as ‘back’:
| Bar itok = | again/come | = Come back |
| Bar etal = | again/go | = Go back |
| Bar letok = | again/give-to me | = Give back to me |
| Bar lewōj = | again/give-to you | = Give back to you |
– In other contexts we would translate it as ‘too/also’ or ‘either’:
| Bar ña = | again/me | = Me too |
| Bar kwe = | again/you | = You too |
| Bar ña ij kōṃṃane = | again/me/I-PRES/do-it | = I do it too |
| Ibar nañinmej = | I-again/sick | = I am sick again or I am sick too |
| Ijab bar nañinmej = | I-not/again/sick | = I am not sick again or I am not sick either |
– If ‘bar’ is before a question word, it is like English ‘else’:
| Bar ta? = | again/what | = What else? |
| Bar wōn? = | again/who | = Who else? |
– Sometimes ‘bar’ means ‘more’ (but not ‘more’ in the sense of ‘more beautiful’ or ‘more people,’ as you learned in Lesson 42):
| Bar jidik = | again/a little | = A little more |
| Bar juon = | again/one | = One more |
| Bar juon alen = | again/one/time | = One more time |
| Bar lewōj jidik = | again/give-to you/a little | = Give you a little more |
– ‘Jab bar’ (‘not again’), can be used to say ‘Don’t do that again’ or ‘Stop doing that’:
| Jab bar iukkure = | not/again/play | = Don’t play again or Stop playing! |
– As you can see, ‘bar’ has many different meanings in different contexts, but the basic meaning is always ‘again.’ If you want to make sure that you say ‘also,’ and not any of the other meanings, say ‘barāinwōt’ instead. If you want to make sure that you say ‘again,’ and not any of the other meanings, say ‘bar juon alen.’
Dialogue
| A: Kwōj ṃōña ta? | A: What are you eating? |
| B: Ña ij ṃōñā raij im mā. | B: I’m eating rice and breadfruit. |
| A: Ennọ ke raij? | A: Is the rice good? |
| B: Ennọ. Ebar ennọ mā. | B: It’s good. The breadfruit is also tasty. |
| A: Eṃṃan. Eṃōj ke aṃ ṃōñā? | A: Good. Are you finished eating? |
| B: Ejañin. Inaaj bar ṃōñā jidik. | B: Not yet. I’m going to eat a little more. |
| A: Ña ij bar lewōj jidik raij? | A: Should I give you a little more rice? |
| B: Aet, bar letok jidik. | B: Yes, give me a little more. |
| A: Im bar ta? | A: And what else? |
| B: Im jidik mā barāinwōt. | B: And a little breadfruit also. |
| A: Ekwe. Ña itōn bar bōktoke jān ṃōn kuk eo. | A: Okay. I’ll bring it back from the cook house. |
| B: Koṃṃooltata. | B: Thank you very much. |
| A: Kwōbar eṃṃool. | A: Thank you too. |
| B: Ebajeet? | B: Why? |
| A: Kōnke kwōj ekkatak ṃōñā im bwebwenato in riṃajeḷ. | A: Because you are learning to eat and talk like a Marshallese person. |
Vocabulary
| lañ | sky, weather |
| mejatoto | sky, air, climate |
| ḷaaṃ (from English) | lamp |
| ne | leg, foot (both the part of the body and the unit of measurement) |
| pakij (from English) | package |
| to | rope, string |
| wōtōr (from English) | to order something over the radio |
| Baibōḷ (from English) | Bible |
| būrinjibōḷ (from English) | principal |
| aḷaḷ | wood, stick of wood |
| kūta (from English) | guitar, to play the guitar |