Taburao is a village on Abaiang , atoll in Kiribati . There are 322 residents of the village (2010 census). The nearest villages are Ewena and Morikao to the north; and Tebero and Taburoa to the south.
85-580: The largest health centre on the atoll is located near the Island Council building. A medical assistant is in charge who assisted by a nursing officer and the centre is accessed by people from the villages of Taburao, Tuarabu, Tebero and Ewena. Apart from small breaks, the whole coastline from Tuarabu to Taburao on the lagoon side is eroding as the result of wave action. 1°49′N 173°01′E / 1.817°N 173.017°E / 1.817; 173.017 This Kiribati location article
170-656: A British protectorate , along with the nearby Ellice Islands . They were administered by a resident commissioner based first on Makin Islands (1893–95), then in Betio , Tarawa (1896–1908) and Ocean Island (1908–1942), protectorate who was under the Western Pacific High Commission (WPHC) based in Fiji. Banaba , known to Europeans as Ocean Island, was added to the protectorate in 1900, because of
255-456: A US Embassy . The current U.S. Embassy responsible for Kiribati is located in Suva, Fiji . In November 1999, Kiribati agreed to allow Japan's National Space Development Agency to lease land on Kiritimati (formerly Christmas Island) for 20 years, on which to build a spaceport . The agreement stipulated that Japan was to pay US$ 840,000 per year and would also pay for any damage to roads and
340-435: A parliamentary democratic republic. The executive branch consists of a president ( te Beretitenti ), a vice-president and a cabinet . The president, who is also chief of the cabinet, is directly elected by the citizens, after the legislature nominates three or four persons from among its members to be candidates in the ensuing presidential election. The president is limited to serving three four-year terms, and remains
425-711: A 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati ( ratified in 1983 ). Although the indigenous Gilbertese name for the Gilbert Islands proper is "Tungaru", the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese spelling of "Gilberts", because it was more modern and as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of Banaba, the Line Islands, and the Phoenix Islands . The last two archipelagoes were never initially occupied by Gilbertese until
510-594: A Catholic priest. It was later partially translated into English by Sister Olivia, with the help of the South Pacific Commission . Over 96% of the 119,000 people living in Kiribati declare themselves I-Kiribati and speak Gilbertese. Gilbertese is also spoken by most inhabitants of Nui ( Tuvalu ), Rabi Island ( Fiji ), and some other islands where I-Kiribati have been relocated ( Solomon Islands , notably Choiseul Province ; and Vanuatu ), after
595-601: A French priest in Tahiti wrote in 1888, Vocabulaire arorai (îles Gilbert) précédé de notes grammaticales d'après un manuscrit du P. Latium Levêque et le travail de Hale sur la langue Tarawa / par le P. A. C. . Father Levêque named the Gilbertese Arorai (from Arorae ) when Horatio Hale called them Tarawa . This work was also based on the first known description of Gilbertese in English, published in 1846, in
680-570: A central part of its international policy, as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States . The name is pronounced / ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / KIRR -i-bass , as -ti in the Gilbertese language represents an [ s ] sound. Similarly, the name of its people, the I-Kiribati, is pronounced / iː ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / ee- KIRR -i-bass . The name Kiribati
765-493: A cost of 9.3 million Australian dollars. In March 2016, Taneti Maamau was elected as the new President of Kiribati. He was the fifth president since the country became independent in 1979. In June 2020, President Maamau won re-election for a second four-year term. President Maamau was considered pro-China and he supported closer ties with Beijing. On 16 November 2021, the Kiribati government announced it would expose
850-474: A drift Gilbertese of Kuria , that they found near Tabiteuea . However, it was not until Hiram Bingham II took up missionary work on Abaiang in the 1860s that the language began to take on the written form known now. Bingham was the first to translate the Bible into Gilbertese, and wrote several hymn books, a dictionary (1908, posthumous) and commentaries in the language of the Gilbert Islands. Alphonse Colomb,
935-568: A member of the assembly. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice-president, and 13 ministers (appointed by the president) who are also members of parliament . The legislative branch is the unicameral Maneaba ni Maungatabu (House of Assembly). Its members are elected, including by constitutional mandate, a nominated representative of the Banaban people in Rabi Island , Fiji (Banaba, former Ocean Island), in addition to, until 2016,
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#17327804419111020-430: A morphological noun-marker system. This means that—by itself—a noun cannot be identified as such. However, singular nouns can be distinguished from other words, as they are preceded by the article "te". However, not all singular nouns can take the article. These include names of people and places, words for cardinal directions, and other specific nouns. Any noun can be formed from a verb or an adjective by preceding it with
1105-634: A new embassy in Kiribati and Tonga and reestablish the Peace Corps presence in the region. Law enforcement in Kiribati is carried out by the Kiribati Police Service which is responsible for all law enforcement and paramilitary duties for the island nation. There are police posts located on all of the islands. The police have one patrol boat, the Guardian-class patrol boat RKS Teanoai II . The main prison in Kiribati
1190-416: Is 'te' before names beginning with <i, u, w, b', ng>, 'tem' before <b, m>, 'ten' before <a, e, o, n, r, t> and 'teng' before <k, (ng)>. Pronouns have different forms according to case: nominative (subject), accusative (object), emphatic (vocatives, adjunct pronouns), genitive (possessives). The Gilbertese language employs a system of demonstratives to indicate the spatial proximity of
1275-533: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kiribati Kiribati ( / ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / KIRR -i-bass , Gilbertese: [kiɾibas] ), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( Gilbertese : Ribaberiki Kiribati ), is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean . Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of
1360-481: Is an exception. The article te also acts as a nominalizer , transforming adjectives into nouns. While te marks singular nouns, the language possesses a plural article taian . However, its use is restricted to countable nouns inherently implying plurality. Collective nouns typically don't take taian . In certain situations, when plurality is evident from surrounding words, taian can be omitted. The personal articles are used before personal names. The masculine form
1445-464: Is closer to [ä] except after velarized /mˠ/ and /pˠ/ . Quantity is distinctive for vowels and plain nasal consonants but not for the remaining sounds so that ana /ana/ (third person singular article) contrasts with aana /aːna/ ( transl. its underside ) as well as anna /anːa/ ( transl. dry land ). Other minimal pairs include: Gilbertese has a basic verb–object–subject word order (VOS). Gilbertese lacks
1530-409: Is expected to be the first country to lose all its land territory to climate change . In June 2008, Kiribati President Anote Tong said that the country had reached "the point of no return." He added, "To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that." In January 2012, Anote Tong was re-elected for a third and last successive term. In early 2012,
1615-625: Is located in Betio , named the Walter Betio Prison. There is also a prison in London on Kiritimati . Male homosexuality is illegal in Kiribati, with a penalty up to 14 years in prison, according to a historical British law; however, this law is not enforced. Kiribati has not yet followed the lead of the United Kingdom, following its Wolfenden report , to decriminalise acts of male homosexuality, beginning with provisions in
1700-621: Is no longer divided into districts (see Subdivisions of Kiribati ). Kiribati has formal political parties but their organisation is quite informal. Ad hoc opposition groups tend to coalesce around specific issues. There is universal suffrage at age 18. Today the only recognisable parties are the Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party , former Boutokaan te Koaua , and Tobwaan Kiribati Party . Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Fiji. The first three of these provide
1785-479: Is not equal to that of your brother. ) Superlatives are formed with the intensifier moan and the article te preceding the adjective. For example, raoiroi (“good”) becomes moan te raoiroi (“the best”). Verbs do not conjugate according to person, number, tense, aspect or mood. These verbal categories are indicated by particles . Nonetheless, a passive suffix -aki is used as in: Any adjective can also be an intransitive verb. Transitive verbs can be formed by
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#17327804419111870-820: Is one of the least developed countries in the world and is highly dependent on international aid for its economy. Kiribati is a member of the Pacific Community , Commonwealth of Nations , the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank , and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States , and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. As an island nation, the islands are vulnerable to climate change and tsunamis. Addressing climate change has been
1955-527: The Northern , Southern , Western , and Eastern hemispheres. The International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching 150°W . This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14 . Kiribati gained its independence from
2040-1031: The Oceanic languages . The word Kiribati , the current name of the islands, is the local adaptation of the European name "Gilberts" to Gilbertese phonology . Early European visitors, including Commodore John Byron , whose ships happened on Nikunau in 1765, had named some of the islands the Kingsmill or Kings Mill Islands or for the Northern group les îles Mulgrave in French but in 1820 they were renamed, in French, les îles Gilbert by Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern , after Captain Thomas Gilbert , who, along with Captain John Marshall , had passed through some of these islands in 1788. Frequenting of
2125-765: The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme or emigrated (to New Zealand and Hawaii mainly). 97% of those living in Kiribati are able to read in Gilbertese, and 80% are able to read English . It is one of the Oceanic languages. The largest individual Oceanic languages are Eastern Fijian with over 600,000 speakers, and Samoan with an estimated 400,000 speakers. The Gilbertese, Tongan , Tahitian , Māori , Western Fijian and Tolai ( Gazelle Peninsula ) languages each have over 100,000 speakers. In 2020 Finlayson Park School in Auckland became
2210-622: The Tarawa Climate Change Conference (TCCC) to support the president of Kiribati's initiative to hold a consultative forum between vulnerable states and their partners. The conference strove to create an enabling environment for multi-party negotiations under the auspices of the UNFCCC. The conference was a successor event to the Climate Vulnerable Forum. The ultimate objective of TCCC was to reduce
2295-468: The UNFCCC conferences of the parties (COP). Kiribati is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental organisation of low-lying coastal and small island countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to address global warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward
2380-498: The crown colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1916. The Northern Line Islands, including Christmas Island ( Kiritimati ), were added to the colony in 1919, and the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937 with the purpose of a Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme . On 12 July 1940, Pan Am Airways' American Clipper landed at Canton Island for the first time during a flight from Honolulu to Auckland . Sir Arthur Grimble
2465-562: The phosphate rock of its soil (discovered in 1900). This discovery and the mining provided a significant amount of revenue, in the form of taxes and duties, to the WPHC. The conduct of William Telfer Campbell , the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts and Ellice Islands of 1896 to 1908, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became
2550-733: The "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence, while Ocean Island and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence . In 1892, local Gilbertese authorities (an uea , a chief from the Northern Gilbert Group, and atun te boti or head of clan ) on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain Edward Davis commanding HMS Royalist of the Royal Navy declaring them part of
2635-699: The 17th and 18th centuries, while those ships attempted circumnavigations of the world, or sought sailing routes from the south to north Pacific Ocean. A passing trade, whaling the On-The-Line grounds, and labour ships associated with the coercive labour recruitment practices, known as blackbirding . This recruitment of Kanaka workers in large numbers during the 19th century, had social, economic, political, religious and cultural consequences. More than 9,000 workers were sent abroad from 1845 to 1895, most of them not returning. The passing trade gave rise to European, Indian, Chinese, Samoan, and other residents from
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2720-566: The 1830s; they included beachcombers , castaways, traders, and missionaries. Dr Hiram Bingham II of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) arrived on Abaiang in 1857. The Roman Catholic faith was introduced on Nonouti around 1880 by 2 Gilbert islanders, Betero and Tiroi, who had become Christians in Tahiti. Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic Missionaries of
2805-709: The 19th century, although the name Gilbert Islands was used increasingly, including in the Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877 and in the Pacific Order of 1893. The name Gilbert , already in the name of the British protectorate since 1892, was incorporated into the name of the entire Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC) from 1916 and was retained after the Ellice Islands became
2890-443: The 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll . The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island , Banaba . Its total land area is 811 km (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean . The islands' spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian , making Kiribati the only country in the world located simultaneously in all four hemispheres:
2975-474: The British authorities, and later the Republic Government, resettled Gilbertese there under resettlement schemes. In 1982, the first elections since independence were held. A no-confidence vote provoked the 1983 new election . In the post-independence era, overcrowding has been an issue, at least in British and aid organisations' eyes. In 1988, an announcement was made that 4,700 residents of
3060-502: The Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru (see e.g., Ernest Sabatier , 1952–1953, or Arthur Grimble , 1989 ). The rendition Kiribati for Gilberts was chosen as the official name of the new independent state by the chief minister, Sir Ieremia Tabai and his cabinet , on such grounds that it was modern, and to comprehend the inclusion of outer islands (e.g., the Phoenix Group and Line Islands), which were not considered part of
3145-540: The Islands, as many as 45 in a given year. Activities included assisting in the planning, design and construction of wells, libraries, and other infrastructure, and agricultural, environmental, and community health education. In 2006, volunteer placement was significantly scaled down due to the reduction of consistent air transportation to the outer islands; it was later ended because the associated ability to provide medical care to volunteers could not be assured. In July 2022, US Vice President Harris announced plans to build
3230-636: The Japanese military in late 1943 involved one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history. Marines landed in November 1943 and the Battle of Tarawa ensued. Ocean Island , the headquarters of the colony, was bombed, evacuated and occupied by Japan in 1942 and not freed until 1945, after the massacre of all but one of the Gilbertese on the island by the Japanese forces. Funafuti hosted then
3315-558: The Line Islands, including Howland , Jarvis , and Baker islands, thus causing a territorial dispute. That was eventually resolved and they finally became part of Kiribati under the Treaty of Tarawa . After the attack on Pearl Harbor , during World War II , Butaritari and Tarawa, and others of the Northern Gilbert group, were occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1943. Betio became an airfield and supply base. The expulsion of
3400-556: The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . On 20 September 2019, the government of Kiribati restored its diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China and simultaneously stopped its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. China offered a 737 aircraft and ferries to Kiribati for the decision, according to Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu . From 1973 until 2008, a total of almost 500 US Peace Corps volunteers were based on
3485-603: The Sacred Heart arrived on Nonouti in 1888. The Protestant missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) were also active in the southern Gilberts. On 15 October 1870, Rev. Samuel James Whitmee of the LMS arrived at Arorae , and later that month he visited Tamana , Onotoa and Beru . In August 1872, George Pratt of the LMS visited the islands. In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned
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3570-527: The Tungaru (or Gilberts) chain. The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples speaking the same Oceanic language , from north to south, including the southernmost Nui , since sometime between 3000 BCE and 1300 CE. The area was not completely isolated; later, voyagers from Samoa , Tonga , and Fiji introduced some Polynesian and Melanesian cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage and intense navigation between
3655-521: The UK's Sexual Offences Act 1957. Female homosexuality is legal, but lesbians may face violence and discrimination. However, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. Gilbertese language Gilbertese ( taetae ni Kiribati ), also Kiribati (sometimes Kiribatese ), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati . It belongs to the Micronesian branch of
3740-411: The United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign state in 1979. The capital, South Tarawa , now the most populated area, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways . These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll . Prior to its independence the country exported phosphate , but those mines are no longer viable. Fisheries and the export of copra drive much of the economy. Kiribati
3825-429: The adverb riki (“more”) after the adjective (e.g., ririeta (“high”) becomes ririeta riki (“higher”)). Expressing “better than” requires the preposition nakon (“than”) along with a construction that compares the noun-like qualities derived from the adjectives: E aki bootau an aakoi tar im. E aki bootau an aakoi tar im. You are not as kind as your brother. (lit. Your kindness
3910-420: The article "te". Nouns can be marked for possession (by person and number). Plurality is only marked in some nouns by lengthening the first vowel. Even then, the singular form might be used—despite plural referents—if no other indicators of their plurality are present. There is no obligatory marked gender. Sex or gender can be marked by adding mmwaane (male) or aiine (female) to the noun. For human nouns,
3995-574: The attorney general, who served as an ex officio member from 1979 to 2016. Legislators serve for a four-year term. The constitutional provisions governing administration of justice are similar to those in other former British colonies in that the judiciary is free from governmental interference. The judicial branch is made up of the High Court (in Betio) and the Court of Appeal. The president appoints
4080-601: The bulk of the country's foreign aid. Taiwan and Japan also have specified-period licences to fish in Kiribati's waters. There are three resident diplomatic missions headquartered in South Tarawa : the Embassies of the Republic of China (Taiwan) until 2019, replaced by People's Republic of China in 2020 and the High Commissions of Australia and New Zealand . Since 2022, there have been talks of opening
4165-612: The claim in a 2014 decision . On further appeal, the New Zealand Supreme Court confirmed the earlier adverse rulings against the application for refugee status, but rejected the proposition "that environmental degradation resulting from climate change or other natural disasters could never create a pathway into the Refugee Convention or protected person jurisdiction". In 2017, Kiribati signed the UN treaty on
4250-712: The colony was transferred from Fiji to the new capital of Honiara , to the British Solomon Islands , with the Gilberts' Resident Commissioner still headquartered in Tarawa. Further military operations in the colony occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s when Christmas Island was used by the United States and United Kingdom for nuclear weapons testing including hydrogen bombs . Institutions of internal self-rule were established on Tarawa from about 1967. The Ellice Islands asked for separation from
4335-493: The environment. A Japanese-built downrange tracking station operates on Kiritimati and an abandoned airfield on the island was designated as the landing strip for a proposed reusable unmanned space shuttle called HOPE-X . HOPE-X, however, was eventually cancelled by Japan in 2003. As one of the world's most vulnerable nations to the effects of global warming , Kiribati has been an active participant in international diplomatic efforts relating to climate change, most importantly
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#17327804419114420-447: The equipment handed down through generations. Ranged weapons, such as bows, slings, and javelins, were seldom used; hand-to-hand combat was a prominent skill still practised today, though seldom mentioned because of various taboos associated with it, secrecy being the primary one. Abemama 's High Chief Tembinok' was the last of the dozens of expansionist chiefs of Gilbert Islands of this period, despite Abemama historically conforming to
4505-501: The first commercial international flight in two years included 36 passengers who tested positive. In 2024, 5,085 Coronavirus Cases were reported which causes 24 deaths and 2,703 were recovered. On 29 January 2023, Kiribati confirmed its intention to rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum , ending a bitter two-year leadership split. The Constitution of Kiribati , promulgated 12 July 1979, provides for free and open elections in
4590-722: The first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994. In 2009, President Tong attended the Climate Vulnerable Forum ( V11 ) in the Maldives , with 10 other countries that are vulnerable to climate change , and signed the Bandos Island declaration on 10 November 2009, pledging to show moral leadership and commence greening their economies by voluntarily committing to achieving carbon neutrality . In November 2010, Kiribati hosted
4675-606: The first school in New Zealand to set up a Gilbertese language unit, where Erika Taeang was employed as the teacher. The Gilbertese language has two main dialects , Northern and Southern. Their main differences are in the pronunciation of some sounds. The islands of Butaritari and Makin also have their own dialect that differs from the standard Kiribati in some vocabulary and pronunciation. Sometimes when reflecting Proto-Micronesian /t/ . Sometimes when reflecting Proto-Micronesian /k/ . Gilbertese contrasts 13 consonants and 10 vowel sounds. The /a/ pronunciation
4760-448: The globe completely within the British Empire. The location of Fanning Island, one of the closest formations to Hawaii, led to its annexation by the British Empire in 1888. Nearby candidates including Palmyra Island were not favoured due to the lack of adequate landing sites. The United States eventually incorporated the Northern Line Islands into its territories, and did the same with the Phoenix Islands , which lie between Gilberts and
4845-453: The government of Kiribati purchased the 2,200-hectare Natoavatu Estate on the second largest island of Fiji, Vanua Levu . At the time it was widely reported that the government planned to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere. In May 2014, the Office of the President confirmed the purchase of some 5,460 acres of land on Vanua Levu at
4930-556: The government to shut down newspaper publishers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful non-government-run newspaper. President Tito was re-elected in 2003 but was removed from office in March 2003 by a no-confidence vote and replaced by a Council of State. Anote Tong of the opposition party Boutokaan Te Koaua was elected to succeed Tito in July 2003. He was re-elected in 2007 and in 2011. In June 2008, Kiribati officials asked Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. Kiribati
5015-405: The help of guns and cannon-equipped ships that Europeans provided to some I-Kiribati leaders. The typical military arms of the I-Kiribati at this time were shark tooth-embedded wooden spears, knives, and swords, and garbs of armour fashioned from dense coconut fibre. They chiefly used these instead of the gunpowder and weapons of steel available at the time, because of the strong sentimental value of
5100-456: The indigenous clans and powers already dominant in Kiribati. Around the 15th century, starkly contrasting systems of governance arose between the northern islands, primarily under chiefly rule ( uea ), and the central and southern islands, primarily under the rule of their council of elders ( unimwaane ). Tabiteuea could be an exception as the sole island that is known as maintaining a traditional egalitarian society. The name Tabiteuea stems from
5185-399: The islands by Europeans, Americans and Chinese dates from whaling and oil trading from the 1820s, when no doubt Europeans learnt to speak it, as Gilbertese learnt to speak English and other languages foreign to them. The first ever vocabulary list of Gilbertese was published by the French Revue coloniale (1847) by an auxiliary surgeon on corvette Le Rhin in 1845. His warship took on board
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#17327804419115270-408: The islands in 1788, while crossing the "outer passage" route from Port Jackson to Canton . Both von Krusenstern's and Duperrey's maps, published in 1824, were written in French. In French, the Northern Islands were until then called îles Mulgrave and Byron Island was not part of them. In English, the archipelago, particularly the southern part, was often referred to as the Kingsmills in
5355-426: The islands tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenization. Local oral historians chiefly in the form of lore keepers suggest that the area was first inhabited by a group of seafaring people from Melanesia , who were described as being dark-skinned, frizzy-haired, and short in stature. These indigenous peoples were then visited by early Austronesian seafarers from
5440-737: The language are never considered to be inalienable. The meanings of certain words may vary according to whether or not they are considered alienable. Adjectives can also be formed from nouns by reduplication with the meaning of "abundant in", e.g., karau ("rain"), kakarau ("rainy"). There are two articles used in Gilbertese: Neither of them implies definiteness, therefore both can be translated as "a(n)" and "the". When preceding collective nouns or names of substances, "te" can be translated as "some." A limited set of nouns, typically referring to unique entities, dispense with te . This includes words like taai “ sun”, karawa “sky”, taari/marawa “sea”, among others. Interestingly, Te Atua , “God”,
5525-459: The larger Fiji islands, 2,000 km away. A move described by Tong as an "absolute necessity" should the country's territory be completely submerged under water. In 2013, attention was drawn to a claim of a Kiribati man of being a "climate change refugee" under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951). However, this claim was determined by the New Zealand High Court to be untenable. The New Zealand Court of Appeal also rejected
5610-427: The linker 'n' may be used. Agent nouns can be created with the particle tia (singular) or taan(i) (plural). In Gilbertese, nouns can be classified as either animate or inanimate . The category of animate nouns includes humans and most animals, whereas inanimate nouns refer to all other entities. Possession , when the possessor is inanimate, is marked with the "n" clitic. In writing, it may be joined with
5695-404: The main island group would be resettled onto less populated islands. In September 1994, Teburoro Tito from the opposition was elected president. In 1995, Kiribati unilaterally moved the International Date Line far to the east to encompass the Line Islands group, so that the country would no longer be divided by the date line. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises,
5780-442: The number and intensity of fault lines between parties to the COP process, explore elements of agreement between the parties and thereby to support Kiribati's and other parties' contribution to COP16 held in Cancun , Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. In 2013, President Tong spoke of climate-change induced sea level rise as "inevitable". "For our people to survive, then they will have to migrate. Either we can wait for
5865-756: The past. Ngkana is used for situations whereof the outcome or truth is not yet known. While they share many similarities with intransitive verbs, there are a few patterns that can be observed among adjectives. Many adjectives, such a s mainaina (“white”), contain a repeated element. While some non-reduplicated adjectives exist, reduplication appears to be dominant. Nouns typically lengthen their first vowel to indicate plural. Conversely, adjectives tend to shorten their first vowel for pluralization (e.g., anaanau (long - singular) becomes ananau (long - plural)). Gilbertese employs distinct strategies for forming comparative and superlative constructions. Comparatives are relatively straightforward, achieved by adding
5950-427: The presiding judges. Local government is through island councils with elected members. Local affairs are handled in a manner similar to town meetings in colonial America. Island councils make their own estimates of revenue and expenditure and generally are free from central government controls. There are a total of 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Each inhabited island has its own council. Since independence, Kiribati
6035-468: The previous word, or written separately. In cases where the "n" marker would be otherwise incompatible with the language's phonotactics, one might use "in" or "ni" instead. In phrases where the possessor is animate, a special possessive pronoun needs to be employed (see Pronouns ). Nouns can also be classified as alienable or inalienable . Inalienable nouns include, among others, parts of the body, family, and feelings. Words which are newly introduced into
6120-534: The provisional headquarters of the colony from 1942 to 1946, when Tarawa returned to host the headquarters, replacing Ocean Island. At the end of 1945, most of the remaining inhabitants of Banaba, repatriated from Kosrae , Nauru and Tarawa, were relocated to Rabi Island , a land of Fiji that the British government had acquired in 1942 for this purpose. On 1 January 1953, the British Western Pacific High Commissioner of
6205-443: The referent to the speaker. These demonstratives are postnominal, meaning they follow the noun they modify. The feminine demonstrative has no plural form, as opposed to the masculine, and the human plural encapsulates groups of mixed gender. Adverbial pronouns also have a three-way distinction of distance: proximal, medial and distal . Ngke is used for hypothetical scenarios that would have an effect today, have they changed in
6290-529: The rest of the colony in 1974 and granted their own internal self-rule institutions. The separation entered into force on 1 January 1976. In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent state of Tuvalu . The Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Then, in September, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Islands, in
6375-437: The root phrase Tabu-te-Uea , meaning "chiefs are forbidden". Civil war soon became a factor, with acquisition of land being the main form of conquest. Clans and chiefs began fighting over resources, fueled by hatred and reignited blood feuds, which may have started months, years, or even decades before. The turmoil lasted well into the European visitation and colonial era, which led to certain islands decimating their foes with
6460-530: The separate country of Tuvalu in 1976. The spelling of Gilberts in the Gilbertese language as Kiribati may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by missionaries , but with the meaning of Gilbertese ( demonym and language) (see e.g., Hawaiian Board of Missionaries, 1895). The first mention as a dictionary entry of the word Kiribati as the native name of the country was written down in 1952 by Ernest Sabatier in his comprehensive Dictionnaire gilbertin–français . The indigenous name often suggested for
6545-493: The subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy . In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to The New Age newspaper described the maladministration of W. Telfer Campbell and challenged the impartiality of Arthur Mahaffy, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. The anonymous correspondent also criticised the operations of the Pacific Phosphate Company on Ocean Island. The islands became
6630-428: The time when we have to move people en masse or we can prepare them—beginning from now ..." In New York in 2014, per The New Yorker , President Tong told The New York Times that "according to the projections, within this century, the water will be higher than the highest point in our lands". In 2014, President Tong finalised the purchase of a 20 km (7.7 sq mi) stretch of land on Vanua Levu , one of
6715-617: The traditional southern islands' governance of their respective unimwaane . He was immortalised in Robert Louis Stevenson 's book In the South Seas , which delved into the high chief's character and method of rule during Stevenson's stay in Abemama. The 90th anniversary of his arrival in the Gilbert Islands was chosen to celebrate the independence of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Chance visits by European ships occurred in
6800-500: The volume Ethnology and Philology of the U.S. Exploring Expedition , compiled by Horatio Hale . The official name of the language is te taetae ni Kiribati , or 'the Gilbertese language', but the common name is te taetae n aomata , or 'the language of the people'. The first complete and comprehensive description of this language was published in Dictionnaire gilbertin–français of Father Ernest Sabatier (981 pp, 1952–1954),
6885-501: The west, a place called Matang, orally described as being tall and fair-skinned. Eventually, both groups intermittently clashed and intermingled until they slowly became a uniform population. Around 1300 CE, a mass departure occurred from Samoa leading to the addition of Polynesian ancestry into the mix of most Gilbertese people. These Samoans later brought strong features of Polynesian languages and culture, creating clans based on their own Samoan traditions and slowly intertwining with
6970-593: The world's largest marine protected area to commercial fishing. The 2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis started with the suspension of all 5 major Justices of the judiciary of Kiribati . In 2020, Kiribati’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic , consistent with most of the COVID-19 responses of Oceania island nations , was to impose strict limits on tourism and commercial travel. Kiribati reported that it remained essentially COVID-free (two cases) until January 2022 when
7055-615: Was a cadet administrative officer based at Tarawa (1913–1919) and became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1926. In 1902, the Pacific Cable Board laid the first trans-Pacific telegraph cable from Bamfield , British Columbia, to Fanning Island (Tabuaeran) in the Line Islands, and from Fiji to Fanning Island, thus completing the All Red Line , a series of telegraph lines circumnavigating
7140-567: Was adopted upon the country's independence in 1979. It is the Gilbertese rendition of Gilberts, the plural of the English name of the nation's main archipelago, the Gilbert Islands . It was named îles Gilbert ( French for 'Gilbert Islands') in about 1820 by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey , after the British captain Thomas Gilbert . Gilbert and captain John Marshall sighted some of
7225-474: Was intended to allow businesses across the expansive territory to keep the same business week. This also enabled Kiribati to become the first country to see the dawn of the third millennium , an event of significance for tourism. Tito was re-elected in 1998. In 1999, Kiribati became a full member of the United Nations, 20 years after independence. In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law that enabled
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