The Kiribati Alphabet

Q: What is the Kiribati language?

Kiribati , also known as Gilbertese, is the national language of the Republic of Kiribati , spoken across its scattered Pacific atolls. [1] The name Kiribati is the local pronunciation of "Gilberts", the former English name for the island group.

Q: How many letters does the Kiribati alphabet have?

The Kiribati alphabet has only 13 letters , making it one of the smallest alphabets used by any living language. It includes 5 vowels and 8 consonant symbols, one of which is the NG digraph .

Q: How many people live in Kiribati?

The 2020 national census counted 119,438 people living across Kiribati's islands and atolls. [2] The vast majority speak Kiribati as their first language at home.

Q: Where is Kiribati spoken?

Kiribati is spoken across the Republic of Kiribati , which spans 32 atolls and one raised coral island in the central Pacific. Communities of speakers also live abroad in Fiji , the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand.

Q: What language family is Kiribati part of?

Kiribati belongs to the Micronesian branch of Oceanic languages, within the broader Austronesian family . [1] Its nearest relatives are Marshallese and Nauruan , spoken elsewhere in Micronesia.

Q: Who developed the Kiribati writing system?

Missionary Hiram Bingham II created the Latin-based alphabet in the 1860s while translating the Bible into the language. [3] Before then, Kiribati existed only as a spoken, unwritten language.

Q: How are long sounds shown in written Kiribati?

Doubled letters mark long vowels and consonants, such as aa, ee, or tt, a convention formalized after independence in 1979 . The distinction between short and long sounds can completely change a word's meaning .

Q: Is Kiribati the same language as Gilbertese?

Yes — Kiribati and Gilbertese refer to the same language , sharing the ISO code gil. Gilbertese comes from "Gilbert Islands", the archipelago's former British colonial name.

Q: What does the NG digraph sound like in Kiribati?

NG is a single nasal sound , just like the "ng" at the end of the English word "sing". The word te tanga , meaning "a dollar", shows this digraph in everyday vocabulary.

Q: Has Kiribati borrowed words from English?

Yes — everyday Kiribati vocabulary includes te beeki (pig), te raiti (rice), and te auti (house), all adapted from English. These loanwords were reshaped to fit Kiribati's simple 13-letter alphabet and syllable patterns.

Kiribati at a Glance

13 letters: 5 vowels and 8 consonants — one of the smallest alphabets used by any living language
Kiribati (also called Gilbertese) is the national language of the Republic of Kiribati ^[1]
The 2020 national census counted 119,438 people across Kiribati's islands ^[2]
Kiribati is a Micronesian Oceanic language, part of the Austronesian family alongside Marshallese and Nauruan ^[1]
The Latin alphabet was created in the 1860s by missionary Hiram Bingham II during his Bible translation work ^[3]
Long vowels and consonants are marked by doubling the letter, such as aa, ee, or tt
The Republic of Kiribati spans 32 atolls and one raised coral island across the central Pacific

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

[b]

[k]

[m]

[n]

[ng]

[r]

[t]

[w]

[b]

Consonant B — as in te beeki (pig, borrowed from English "piggy"). A bilabial stop, as in the English word "boy".

[k]

Consonant K — as in Kiribati, the country's own name. A voiceless velar stop, as in the English word "kite".

[m]

Consonant M — as in mauri (a traditional greeting). A bilabial nasal, as in the English word "man".

[n]

Consonant N — as in Nareau, the creator figure of traditional Kiribati mythology. An alveolar nasal, as in the English word "no".

[ng]

Digraph NG — as in te tanga (a dollar). A single velar nasal sound, like the "ng" in the English word "sing", never a separate "n" plus "g".

[r]

Consonant R — as in te raiti (rice, borrowed from English). A tapped rhotic, similar to the "r" in Spanish rather than English.

[t]

Consonant T — as in te tai (time, a watch, borrowed from English). A voiceless alveolar stop, as in the English word "top".

[w]

Consonant W — as in te wanikiba (airplane, literally "the canoe that flies"). A labial-velar approximant, as in the English word "way".

Vowel A — as in te auti (house).

Consonant B — as in te beeki (pig).

Vowel E — as in mauri (greeting).

Vowel I — as in te ika (fish).

Consonant K — as in Kiribati.

Consonant M — as in mauri (greeting).

Consonant N — as in Nareau.

Digraph NG — as in te tanga (a dollar).

Vowel O — as in Onotoa.

Consonant R — as in te raiti (rice).

Consonant T — as in te tai (time).

Vowel U — as in Butaritari.

Consonant W — as in te wanikiba (airplane).

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Kiribati language?

How many letters does the Kiribati alphabet have?

How many people live in Kiribati?

Where is Kiribati spoken?

What language family is Kiribati part of?

Who developed the Kiribati writing system?

How are long sounds shown in written Kiribati?

Is Kiribati the same language as Gilbertese?

What does the NG digraph sound like in Kiribati?

Has Kiribati borrowed words from English?

References:

[1] Glottolog 5.x. "Gilbertese [gilb1244]" — de facto national language of Kiribati. Retrieved from Glottolog: Gilbertese
[2] Kiribati National Statistics Office. "Kiribati 2020 Population and Housing Census" — total population 119,438. Retrieved from NSO Kiribati: 2020 Population and Housing Census
[3] Yale University Library Archives. "Bingham Family Papers" — documents Hiram Bingham II's 1860s translation of the Bible into Gilbertese and development of its Latin-based orthography. Retrieved from Yale Archives: Bingham Family Papers