| Marshallese | |
|---|---|
| Kajin M̧ajeļ[1] | |
| (new orthography) Kajin M̧ajeļ (old orthography) Kajin Majōl | |
| Native to | Marshall Islands |
| Ethnicity | Marshallese |
Native speakers | (55,000 cited 1979)[2] |
Austronesian
| |
| Latin (Marshallese alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Marshall Islands |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | mh |
| ISO 639-2 | mah |
| ISO 639-3 | mah |
| Glottolog | mars1254 |
 Map of Micronesian languages; Marshallese is spoken in the orange area. | |
| Culture of the Marshall Islands |
|---|
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| History |
| Languages |
| Cuisine |
| Religion |
| Music |
| Sport |
Marshallese (Marshallese: Kajin M̧ajeļ or Kajin Majōl [kɑzʲinʲ(i)mˠɑːzʲɛlˠ]), also known as Ebon, is a Micronesian language spoken in the Marshall Islands. The language of the Marshallese people, it is spoken by nearly all of the country's population of 59,000, making it the principal language.[3] There are also roughly 27,000 Marshallese citizens residing in the United States,[4] nearly all of whom speak Marshallese, as well as residents in other countries such as Nauru and Kiribati.
There are two major dialects, the western Rālik and the eastern Ratak.
- ^ "Marshallese". SIL International. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
- ^ Marshallese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ "Population, total – Marshall Islands". The World Bank.
- ^ Susanne Ruststaff (December 31, 2019). "They came here after the U.S. irradiated their islands. Now they face an uncertain future". Los Angeles Times.