Marshallese language
| Marshallese | |
|---|---|
| Ebon | |
| (new orthography) Kajin Ṃajeḷ (old orthography) Kajin Majōl | |
| Native to | Marshall Islands |
| Ethnicity | Marshallese |
Native speakers | (55,000 cited 1979) |
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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Marshallese (Marshallese: Kajin Ṃajeḷ 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. There are also roughly 27,000 Marshallese citizens residing in the United States, 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.