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.
Marshallese has a very useful word ‘kein’ which means ‘thing for.’ It is placed before verbs. For instance:
| Kein tutu = | thing for/take a shower | = thing for taking a shower => dipper, bucket, etc. |
| Kein turọñ = | thing for/spearfish | = thing for spearfishing => fishing spear |
| Kein jerbal = | thing for/work | = thing for working => tool |
| Kein iukkure = | thing for/play | = thing for playing => toy |
| Kein jikuuḷ = | thing for/attend school | = thing for attending school => school supplies, school materials |
| Kein ṃōñā = | thing for/eat | = thing for eating => eating utensils |
| Kein eọñōd = | thing for/fish | = thing for fishing => fishing pole |
| Kein jeje = | thing for/write | = thing for writing => writing utensils |
| Kein aō = | thing for/swim | = thing for swimming => swimming flippers, life preserver |
| Kein keememej= | thing for/remind | = thing for reminding => reminder, memento |
– If you don’t know the word for something, think of what the thing does, and then use the word ‘kein’ before the word for what it does. For instance, if you don’t know that the word for ‘dipper’ is ‘kekōb,’ just say ‘kein tutu’ (‘thing for taking a shower’). It might not be the best word for the thing, but you will at least be understood. This is one of the reasons that ‘kein’ is so useful.
– ‘Kein’ also means ‘for’ in the sense of ‘used for the purpose of’:
| Kein ṃōñā = | for/eat | = for eating |
| Kein idaak = | for/drink | = for drinking |
| Kein ta? = | for/what | = what for? |
| Kein ad jeje = | for/our/write | = for us to write with |
| Kein aṃ iukkure = | for/your/play | = for you to play with |
– ‘Kein’ can also be used to make words like ‘first,’ ‘second,’ ‘third’ etc. Put ‘ka’ right before the number, and ‘kein’ at the beginning:
| Kein kajuon = | thing for/make-one | = First |
| Kein karuo = | thing for/make-two | = Second |
| Kein kajilu = | thing for/make-three | = Third |
etc.
Vocabulary
| būrōrō | red |
| oran (from English) | orange (the color or the fruit) |
| iiaḷo (from English) | yellow |
| kūriin (from English) or maroro | green |
| bilu (from English) | blue |
| piolet (from English ‘violet’) | purple |
| mouj | white |
| kilmeej | black |
| kūre (from English) | gray |
| būrawūn (from English) | brown |
Pronunciation Practice
‘ū’
In Lesson 1 the sound ‘ū’ was described to be close to the ‘oo’ in English ‘book.’ This is true, but if you want to pronounce it better, do the following. Pronounce ‘ea’ as in ‘beat,’ and slowly change it into the ‘u’ in ‘tune.’ Stop halfway in between and you have Marshallese ‘ū.’ Another way to get the same sound is to say the ‘u’ in ‘tune,’ and stop puckering your lips but keep everything else the same. This sound is also very close to the ‘ō’ that sounds like ‘book’ (not the ‘ō’ that sounds like ‘buck’).
Practice with these words:
| ūl | ‘fin’ | rūkaki | ‘teacher’ | rūtto | ‘old’ |
| ūlūl | ‘axe’ | kūta | ‘guitar’ | tūṃ | ‘break’ |
| būbū | ‘grandma’ | wūt | ‘flower’ | būroṃōj | ‘sad’ |
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
- Lesson 42: Comparatives and superlatives
- Lesson 43: Again, back, also, else
- Lesson 44: Another coconut, the other coconut, the other coconuts
- Lesson 45: I want you to go, let me go (The subjunctive)
- Lesson 46: Go, please go, let’s go (Commands, requests, and suggestions)
- Lesson 47: I know that you are playing, it is good that you are playing
- Lesson 48: I am partying, you are coffeeing
- Lesson 49: Hunting for crabs, looking for shells (The ka- prefix)
- Lesson 50: Make you happy, make you sad (The ka- prefix again)
- Lesson 51: Person of, person who (The ri- prefix)
- Lesson 52: Thing for working, thing for playing
- Practical Marshallese