Languages of Micronesia
Micronesia is comprised of many small and scattered islands, stung over vast distances, as well as groupings of islands in closer proximity to one another. Though small differences between pronunciation, words and even grammar may be noted on a single island, or between two neighboring islands, the point at which the sum of differences constitutes a distinct dialect or language can be difficult to discern.
Trukic Continuum
As an example of the challenge in distinguishing dialects versus languages, the “Trukic Continuum” refers to the network of related languages —or debatably dialects— that span from west to east across the Outer Islands of today's Yap State and into toward Chuuk Lagoon. In the past, the Continuum also stretched further to the west, including the Southwest Islands of Palau as far as Hatohobei. Micronesian languages within this Trukic Continuum have been defined differently, sometimes as dialects and sometimes as separate languages, at different times.
Marshall Islands
Marshallese is spoken in the Ralik and Ratak chains of the Marshall Islands. The dialect used in missionary and other writing, and in inter-island communication, is that of Jaluit and of the Ralik group in general. There are slight differences between the dialects of the various atolls, and the speech of the Radak group as a whole differs somewhat from that of the Ralik group. This difference is mainly one of vocabulary, and does not affect mutual comprehension.
Taxonomically, Marshallese is among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Kosrae
Kosraean (Kusaien) is used only in Kosrae (Kusaie), in the eastern Caroline Islands, situated in today’s Federated States of Micronesia. Though clearly related to Marshallese and Pohnpeian, it is not mutually comprehensible with either of them. Certain words in Kosraean have somewhat differing forms according to the social level (ordinary or high) of the person spoken to.
Taxonomically, Kosraean is among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Pohnpei
Pohnpeian
Pohnpeian (Ponapean) is spoken on the Island of Pohnpei (Ponape) and today on nearby outer islands of Pingelap, Mwoakilloa (Mokil), Ant, Pakin, Sapwuahfik, all the FSM’s Pohnpei State and part of the eastern Caroline Islands. In Pohnpeian, there are three main levels of speech, with somewhat varying vocabulary: the speech used by the common people, that to be used in speaking to the upper classes, and that to be used to the highest chiefs.
Taxonomically, Pohnpeian is among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Ngatikese, Pingelapese, Mokilese
These neighboring or “outer” islands of Pohnpei formerly had dialects intermediate between Pohnpeian and Marshallese; these older dialects have largely been overlaid by Pohnpeian, spread by the missionaries and native teachers.
Ngatikese is spoken on the Atoll of Sapwuahfik (historically Ngatik); Pingelapese on the Atoll of Pingelap; and Mokilese on the Atoll of Mwoakilloa (historically Mokil).
Taxonomically, these languages are among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi
The language on the Atolls of Nukuoro (sometimes the langauge being termed Nukuoran) and Kapingamarangi in Pohnpei State are of the Polynesian family of languages, and are so closely related to Samoan as to be mutually intelligible with it.
Taxonomically, Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi are among the “Central Pacific Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages. That grouping includes Rotuman, Fijian languages, and all Polynesian languages, including these two Polynesian Outliers.
Chuuk
Chuukese
Chuukese is the language spoken of Chuuk Lagoon, Faichuk, the Southern and Northern Namoneas Islands.
Part of the Trukic Continuum, taxonomically, Chukese is among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Mortlockese
Chuukese and Mortlockese are so closely related as to be sub-dialects of a single language They were treated as a single language by missionaries in preparing a Bible translation for use in both places. Chuukese is to a certain extent in used as a lingua franca throughout the central and western Carolines.
Mortlockese is the spoken language of the Nomoi Islands, which includes Satowan, Losap, Nema, Namoluk, Lukunor, Ettal, Kuttu, Ta, Moch, Piis-Emwar, Lekinioch and Oneop.
Part of the Trukic Continuum, taxonomically, Mortlockese is among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Other Regions in Chuuk State
Though further differences are less pronounced and consistent than the distinction between Chuukese and Mortlockese, a case can be made for Namonuito, Pááfang (in the Hall Islands), and Puluwatese (on Polowat) as distinguishable dialects, if not clearly distinct languages. The State of Chuuk itself recognizes Chuukese, Mortlockese, Namonuito, Pááfang, and Puluwatese as it's five official languages.
Yap
Yapese
Yapese is spoken on the islands of Yap and Ngulu. Yapese has certain Indonesian grammatical features, and its vocabulary is sharply differentiated from that of the other Caroline languages.
Taxonomically, Yapese is not among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages, but rather constitutes its own unique group and is most closely related to the Admiralty Islands group. These are the languages of Manus and neighboring islands to the north of the New Guinea mainland.
Ulithian, Woleaian and Satawallese
The Outer Islands of Yap are situated in the center of the historical Trukic Continuum.
Ulithian is natively spoken on the Atoll of Ulithi and the Island of Fais, located in the Western Caroline Islands in today’s Yap State. Ulithian was also spoken by natives of Ngulu (who code switch in Yapese) as well as by Ulithian and Faisian islanders residing on the Island of Yap Proper.
Woleaian is spoken on the Atoll of Woleai, as well as Lamotrek, Ifalik, Faraulep, Eauripik, Elato, and Piig.
Satawallese is spoken on the island of Satawal, the furthest east of the Outer Islands of Yap.
Part of the Trukic Continuum, taxonomically, Ulithian, Woleaian and Satawallese are among the “Micronesian Group” of the Oceanic sub-group of Austronesian Languages.
Republic of Palau
Palauan
Palau is spoken on Babeldaob, Koror, Peleliu, and Angaur, as well as Kayangel in the Republic of Palau. Early analysis by Americans deemed it to be fundamentally Indonesian, with certain Melanesian features of grammar and vocabulary in common with the Carolinian and Marshallese languages, but contrasting with Chamorro on Guam.
Southwestern Islands
The dialects of the islands southwest of Palau (Sonsorol and Hatohobei) seem to have elements of both Yap and Caroline (Trukic Continuum) vocabulary, and probably represent some kind of linguistic mixture. Sometimes called the "Outer Islands" of Palau, today these islands today comprise Hatohobei State and Sonsorol States. Virtually uninhabited today, these islands were linguistically and culturally proximate to the Western Carolines, today's Outer Islands of Yap.
Gaum
Chamorro is spoken in Guam and the other islands of the Marianas. As a result of centuries of Spanish political and cultural domination, the vocabulary of Chamorro became heavily permeated with Spanish words. By the post Pacific War Period, English had become commonplace, even in more rural areas on Guam.
Foreign Languages
Spanish
Spanish had been used extensively only in the Marianas, from the time of conquest until the end of Spanish rule in 1898. In Guam, many of the older generation of natives understood and spoke Spanish up until the War in the Pacific.
English
English was introduced and used widely in the Marshalls and Carolines in the nineteenth century. Its use had come from two sources: traders’ and whalers’ lingo (mostly of the “pidgin” variety) and missionaries’ teaching. From Pidgin English a number of English words —mostly indicating cultural borrowings— passed into the native languages. A number of other words (especially in the Marshalls), as well as the names of the days of the week and of the months had been transferred.
American missionaries had been active in the Marshalls, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and the Mortlocks and Chuuk, since the 1850’s, and spread the use of standard English in those regions. As late as the final years of the Japanese Period knowledge of standard English was probably limited to a small number of natives, but these were quite widely spread. Use of standard English was common on Kosrae at the end of the War, and in the Marshalls there was said to be at least one English- speaking person on every atoll. In Guam, knowledge of English was fairly widespread, owing to US control of the Island since the aftermath of the Spanish-American War.
Today, English serves as a lingua franca within the Federated States of Micronesia, owing to the stark diversity of native tongues across the states of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae.
German
German was the official government language from 1898 to 1914, and German missionaries have been active in the Marshalls, the central Carolines, and Palau. Nevertheless, knowledge of German was not widespread by the mid-1940s, and at that point probably limited to a few persons among the older generation in the regions mentioned .
Japanese
Japanese was the official government language since 1914 throughout the Japanese Mandate and was taught intensively in the government schools. Strong efforts were made to have it used as a lingua franca throughout the mandated islands. Those of the younger generation in the islands where there was a substantial proportion of Japanese settlers or where the Japanese outnumbered the natives had considerable knowledge of Japanese, and were often able read the kana characters. Those from more outlying islands tended, however, to forget most or all of the Japanese they learned in school, on returning home, according to postwar US Naval sources.
Resources
Goodenough, Ward H. 1995. Proto-Micronesian Palatals. Oceanic Linguistics, 34:1, 73-85.
Lynch, David. 1998. Pacific Languages: An Introduction. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Quackenbush, Edward. 1968. Doctoral Dissertation on Trukic Dialects. University of Michigan.
Rehg, Kenneth L. 1993. Proto-Micronesian Prosody. Tonality in Austronesian Languages. Edmondson and Gregerson, eds. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 25-41.
Rehg, Kenneth L. 1995. The Significance of Linguistic Interaction Spheres in Reconstructing Micronesian Prehistory. Oceanic Linguistics, 34:2, 305-326.
Rehg, Kenneth L. 2004. Linguists, Literacy and the Law of Unintended Consequences. Oceanic Linguistics, 43:2, 498-518.
