Nauruan language

 ( Languages Of Nauru ) 

• The five : a, e, i, o, u
• Twelve : b, d, g, j, k, m, n, p, q, r, t, w

The letters c, f, h, l, s, v, x, y, and z were not included. With the growing influence of foreign languages, in particular German language, English language, Gilbertese, and part of the Pama-Nyungan family, more letters were incorporated into the Nauruan alphabet. In addition, phonetic differences of a few vowels arose, so that I-mutation and other similar sounds were indicated with a tilde.

Also, "y" was introduced in order to differentiate words with the English "j" (puji). Thus, words like ijeiji were changed to iyeyi. In addition, "ñ" (which represented the velar nasal) was replaced with "ng", to avoid confusion with the Spanish language Ñ. "bu" and "qu" were replaced with "bw" and "kw", respectively. "ts" was replaced with "j" (since it represented a sound similar to the English "j"); and the "w" written at the end of words was dropped.

These reforms were only partly carried out: the symbols "õ" and "ũ" are still written as such, with tildes. However, the letters "ã" and "ñ" are now only seldom used, being replaced with "e" and "ng", as prescribed by the reform. Likewise, use of the digraphs "bw" and "kw" has been implemented. Although "j" took the place of "ts", certain spellings still use "ts": e.g., the districts Baiti and Ijuw District (according to the reform Beiji and Iyu) are still written with the old writing conventions. The "y" has become generally accepted.

Today the following 30 Latin letters are used.

• : a, ã, e, i, o, õ, u, ũ
• : b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

The relationship of the above letters and phonemes is: a ɑ/a, ã ɛ, e e/e̞/ɛ, i i/ɪ/ɨ, o o/ɔ, õ ø, u ʊ/ʉ, ũ y, b b, bw b͡w, c k/s, d d, di ʤi, f f, g g, gw g͡w, h h, j ʤ̊, k k, kw k͡w, nng ŋː, l l, m m, n n, ñ ŋ, p p, qu k͡w, r ɾ/r, s s, t t, ti ʧi, ts ʤ̊, v f/v, w w/ɣ, x k͡s, y j/ʝ, z z.

Today there is significantly less dialectal variation. In the district of Yaren District and the surrounding area there is an eponymous dialect spoken, which is only slightly different from other varieties.

¹Ñaga ã eitsiõk õrig imin, Gott õrig ianweron me eb. ²Me eitsiõk erig imin ñana bain eat eb, me eko õañan, mi itũr emek animwet ijited, ma Anin Gott õmakamakur animwet ebõk. ³Me Gott ũge, Enim eaõ, me eaõen. ⁴Me Gott ãt iaõ bwo omo, me Gott õekae iaõ mi itũr. ⁵Me Gott eij eget iaõ bwa Aran, me eij eget itũr bwa Anũbũmin. Ma antsiemerin ma antsioran ar eken ũrõr adamonit ibũm. ⁶Me Gott ũge, Enim tsimine firmament inimaget ebõk, me enim ekae ebõk atsin eat ebõk. ⁷Me Gott eririñ firmament, mõ õ ekae ebõk ñea ijõñin firmament atsin eat ebõk ñea itũgain firmament, mõ ũgan. ⁸Me Gott eij egen firmament bwe Ianweron. Ma antsiemerin ma antsioran ar eken ũrõr karabũmit ibũm.

This text demonstrates a few of the (e.g. Gott, "God"; and Firmament, "celestial sphere") in Nauruan, which is traced back to the strong influence of Germany missionary.

• " Nauru Grammar", by Alois Kayser compiled (1936); distributed by the German embassy 1993,