Palau: Airai -- The Sea: Language



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Language

ENGLISH	PALAUAN	NOTES
The Sea:
Sea water	Daob	Sea water, ocean.
Sea shore	Kederang	Beach, sandy area near the water. This is applicable only for places that have beaches.
Near-shore	Kereker	Shallow water after sea shore
Where the waves break	Chelmoll	General term for reef where the waves break
	Rsaol	A boarder between deep and shallow areas of the sea in the inner reef where waves break.
Deep sea	Ngoaol	Open ocean.
Ocean	Daob	General name for ocean, or sea water.
Waves	Chedesaoch	White-capped waves
Tides	Dolech	Tide, especially when high.
Fishing:
Fishing	Omenged	General term for fishing,
	omengesokes	To catch fish with long, stationary net.
Line fishing	mengereel	To fish with line( but not trolling)
	oungoaol	To fish in open ocean outside the reef

Fishes	Ngikel	General term for fish.
Shark	Chedeng	General term for shark. There are different kinds of sharks.
Turtle	Uel	General term for turtle
Hawksbill turtle	Ngasech	Shells from this turtle are used to make Palauan women's money, and comb.
Green turtle	Melob	Shells from this turtle are thin and cannot be used for anything.
Octopus	Bukitang	General term for octopus

The Reef:
Coral	Badelchei, merangd	General term for corals
Reef	Chelmoll	General area of the reef
	Rsaol	A border between deep and shallow area of the sea (near the land)
	Oreall	Highest part of the reef that dried up first at low tide.
	Daimechesengel	Shallow areas in the open sea.
	Dailechei	Area between "kereker" and "chelemoll"
	Melkesokl	Shallow area between "kereker" and "chelemoll"
	Chiloil	Big rock in the reef

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.

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Copyright 2003 Pacific Worlds & Associates • Usage Policy • Webmaster