Sacred Geography:

Sacred:

Cheledáol

Sacred Sites:

Tungl

Forbidden place

Altar:

Olengetóngel

A place where we put offerings

Temple:

Ikelésia

Church, from Spanish

Shrine:

Blil a chelid

Usually use for Japanese shrine

Dance:

Nglóik

General name for dances

Dance Instructor:

Chad el olsisechakl a ngloik

A person who teaches dance

Chant:

Chesols

General term for chant

Drum:

Táiko

Japanese word

Pray:

Melulúuch

Pray to God

Priest:

Meluchelchelid;

Badréi

—person who is possessed with spirit and he speaks for god.
—perhaps Spanish (padre)

Soul:

Reng;
Delebengel a chad

Spirit of the dead

Ghost:

Deléb

General term for ghost

Corpse:

Bedengél a mlad. Chesúlech

Body of a dead person

Onwards:

Future

Ngar er a medad

Poor

Chebuul

People of the lower clan

Rich, Wealthy

Merau

High clan

Meteet

People of the higher clan

Work

Oureor

Hard working

Meduch a rengul

Person who is hard working or perseveres

Lazy

Mesaik

Industrious

Meses

Skillful

Dachelbai

Term used for a person who is skillful in making things with hand or clever person.

Notes on Pronunciation:

This is a brief outline of some of the spelling and pronunciation issues for Palauan orthography. It should help readers to better pronounce the many Palauan words used in this website. But for a complete discussion, see Josephs (1990: xxxiv-xlv).

• The letters used to spell the consonants are b, t, d, k, ch, s, m, ng, r, and l.

• B is pronounced as b at the beginnings of words and when between two vowels, or before l. Otherwise, it is pronounced as p.

• D is in pronounced like th when between vowels or at the end of a word.

• K, when between vowels, is pronounced more like g.

• Ch is *not* pronounced as "ch," ever. It represents a glottal stop, as in "uh oh." The glottal stop is a letter of equal value to other consonants, as its presence or absence changes the meaning of a word.

• When vowels are doubled, it indicates that the sound is held longer.