Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands are two chains of islands in Micronesia, located between Hawaii and Australia. Approximately 70,000 people inhabit the Marshall Islands and its land mass can be compared to that of Washington D.C.

Learn more about the Marshall Islands

Religion

Due to Hawaiian and American Protestant missionaries in the 1860s, nearly all of the population of the Marshall Islands identifies as Christian. The United Church of Christ is the modern day incarnation of the church of the Congregationalists, who converted the Marshallese throughout the 19^th century. 55% percent of the population identifies with this church. Other religions present on the island include the following: Assemblies of God (26%), Roman Catholic (8%), Bukot Non Jesus (AKA Assembly of God Part Two, 3%), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (2%), Seventh Day Adventist (1%), Full Gospel (1%), Baha’i (1%), and other religions (e.g., Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, and members of the Salvation Army, 1%).

The traditional view of birth involves infants being given free reign, with few restrictions or rules. They are usually nursed until age 2-3, or until a new sibling is born. Death is viewed as the passage onto another form of existence. Evidence of a person’s being remain after death, through their children and through the soil the individual worked for many years. Death represents becoming a non-corporeal ancestor, a being who continues to interact with community members, through their body being “planted” to become a part of the soil.

Demographics

• Population: 70,983 (2014)

• Net migration rate: -4.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014)

• Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (2010-2014)

• Life expectancy at birth:

• Total population: 72.58 years

  • Male: 70.42 years

  • Female: 74.84 years (2014)

• Ethnic Groups: Marshallese 92.1%, mixed Marshallese 5.9%, other 2% (2006)

Languages

• Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999)

• English (official), widely spoken as a second language

Marshallese in the United States

According to the 1986 Compact of Free Association, Marshallese people may immigrate freely to the US and work without restriction. Immigrants cite high unemployment and the search for better education and healthcare as reasons for leaving the islands. According to the 2010 US census, significant Marshallese populations reside in Springdale, Arkansas; Spokane, Washington; and Costa Mesa, California.

Oregon has the fourth highest percentage of Marshallese speakers in the United States, at 5.89%, behind Hawaii (41.40%), Arkansas (13.55%), and California (12.06%). Marshallese, also known as Ebon, is a Micronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.

Culture

In Marshallese culture, family and community are intertwined and are an important part of their close-knit society and values. Marshallese are members of large extended kin groups with whom they share companionship, land, clanship (transmitted through females) or blood (transmitted through males).

Childhood

Child rearing involves the child as a part of daily activities, often carried on the hip of the mother. At age 4-5, female children may become nursemaids, who assist with babies, run errands, and take care of household chores. Traditionally, male children are freer to explore, and often accompany men on fishing and gathering expeditions.

Marriage/Divorce

Marriage is allowed between members of different clans who may be related, and with non-related foreigners. Divorce is infrequent, though not prohibited. Polygamy, which was once prohibited by missionaries, is now not condoned. Being married is very important as it allows the man and woman, and their offspring, to partake in extended families and community, and be viewed as an integral part.

Social Interactions

In the Marshall Islands, there is an emergent class structure, which reflects differences in distribution of jobs and wealth. The main reflection in the class structure can be seen at the highest levels, with a political power held among a group of chiefs and a small set of English-speaking half-caste residents and other elite families. Elite styles of American dress and personal adornment may reflect the class distinctions, as well as speech styles, which are divided into honorific and ordinary styles.

Traditionally, males in Marshallese society typically perform activities of sea and sky and females tend to dominate activities on land. Females may also stay close to the village while men work on lands far from the village and travel freely. Despite this, females control a great deal of power in the matrilineal social structure and their decisions have a lot of influence. Displays of affection between members of the opposite sex is considered inappropriate, therefore meeting at night is the typical method of courtship.

Iokwe is the greeting used in almost any situation. It is a term that has many meanings based on inflection. It might mean “hello,” “good-bye,” “love,” or “like,” and in certain situations it can be an expression of frustration or remorse. When meeting someone, shaking hands is not common. But when people do shake hands they might continue shaking for a prolonged period, even for an entire conversation. It is typical for people, particularly on outer islands, to invite passers-by in for conversation and refreshments. When people address one another, names are not usually used. Instead, a more general reference such as motta (“friend”) might follow Iokwe.

Holidays/Celebrations

• Marshall Islands Memorial and Nuclear Victims Day- March 1st

• Liberation Day: celebrates the anniversary of the day the United States liberated each island from Japan during World War II

• Marshall Islands Constitution Day- May 1st: anniversary of the day the first Marshall Islands constitution was signed

• Manit (Custom) Day- last Friday of September: family is the focus of this cultural festival

• Gospel Day- first Friday of December: celebration in honour of the American missionaries who brought Christianity to the islands

Cuisine

Marshallese cuisine has traditionally been heavy in fish from the surrounding areas and three crops- breadfruit, pandanus, and swamp tare, in addition to coconut, arrowroot, and taro. Seafood, birds, and eggs are supplemented with pig, chicken, and an increasing variety of tinned meats. Coffee and soda are quite common, replacing coconut milk as the primary drink. Overpopulation on the islands of Majuro and Ebeye make residents almost entirely reliant on unaffordable imported foods.

Language

There are two major dialects of Marshallese: Rālik, which is spoken in the western island chain, and Ratak, which is spoken in the eastern island chain. Rālik and Ratak dialects are mutually intelligible but differ phonetically with regard to phonological constraints for stems that begin with double consonants. Ratak inserts vowels to separate double consonants in stems, whereas Rālik adds a vowel and an unwritten /j/ before the consonants. An example is the stem kkure, which means “play.” In Rālik it becomes ukkure and in Ratak it becomes kukure.

English is the second official language of the Marshall Islands.

Phonology: Consonants

There are 22 consonants in the Marshallese language. Palatalized consonants are “light,” and rounded consonants are “heavy.” Final consonants are often unreleased.

Vowels

Marshallese has a vertical vowel system of four vertical vowel phonemes. Front and back vowels of the same height are considered allophones and have no effect on word meaning. E.g., /i/ or /u/ in the same position in the same word would have the same meaning, i.e. [in] or [un] both mean in. Each vowel phoneme has several allophones depending on the surrounding consonants.

Diphthongs

There are 24 possible diphthongs in Marshallese as well as long vowels that may contain an underlying glide.

Phonotactics

• Syllable shapes: CV, CVC, and VC patterns.

• Initial vowels are sometimes realized with an onglide /j/ or /w/.

• Homorganic clusters that are disallowed in Marshallese:

  • Obstruent-obstruent (stops, fricatives & affricates), nasal-nasal (/m/, /n/, /ŋ/) liquid-liquid (/ɹ/ & /l/), nasal-obstruent, and nasal-liquid clusters undergo assimilation.

  • Obstruent-liquid and liquid-obstruent clusters undergo epenthesis. There are a few exceptions to this.

  • Liquid-nasal clusters undergo nasal assimilation.

  • Obstruent-nasal clusters undergo epenthesis (if coronal) or nasal assimilation (if non-coronal).

Prosody

Marshallese is a mora-rhythmed (stressed syllables) language. Finnish, Gilbertese, Hawaiian and Japanese are also mora-rhythmed languages.

Orthographics

Marshallese is written using the Latin alphabet and consists of 24 letters. Spelling is based on pronunciation.

Syntax

Marshallese has two types of sentences: predicational sentences and equational sentences. Predicational sentences have subject-verb-object word order. In equational sentences, both the subject and predicate are noun phrases.

Morphology

Marshallese has determiners and demonstratives, which follow the noun they modify. Determiners can mark number and a human/nonhuman distinction. There are five levels of demonstratives: near the speaker, near the speaker and listener, near the listener, away from both speaker and listener, and distant but visible.

In Marshallese there are two sets of first and second person singular pronouns, known as "absolutive" or "emphatic" pronouns and as "objective" pronouns.First person plurals mark for clusivity. The emphatic pronouns serve as subjects of equational sentences, as complements of prepositions, in order to emphasize objects, in coordination structures, and with topicalized or focused subjects. Third person objective pronouns may only be used for humans while non-humans take a null pronoun.

Implications for the SLP

Cultural Values

In order to be culturally competent, the clinician must familiarize themselves with the cultural values of the Marshallese people. The following are cultural traits specific to the Marshallese that may be in contrast to the American ideals of status equality, individualism, nuclear family, and future-focused time orientation:

Social Hierarchy:

• Tribal hierarchy is highly valued and people are expected to show respect and obey authority.

• Be aware of the impact of the client and their family’s role in the tribe and their perceived authority.

• Have an idea of who should be addressed, according to tribal hierarchy, and offer choices and alternatives to include the family in the decision-making process.

• “Yes” may have multiple meanings due to desire to cooperate and defer to authority. Clinician should ask follow up questions to clarify and make clear that “no” is an acceptable response.

• Children take on responsibility from a young age and are expected to learn from observation and imitation. They are not expected to ask questions, but rather are instructed on what to do

(Inter)Dependency/Collectivism:

• Extended family is highly valued. Depending on one another is the ideal, not a negative.

• Ask about household composition, transportation, accessibility to resources, and translation possibilities.

• Focus on the group can often be misinterpreted as denial of an individual's needs to the Western observer.

• Incorporate collectivist perspective when goal setting. Marshallese may view an important goal as one that strengthens social relationships as opposed to furthering personal achievement.

• Bringing additional family members or friends should be encouraged.

Matrilineal clans:

• Traditionally, inheritance, status, and identity are passed down the matrilineal line.

• Women play a significant role in Marshallese society, although their authority is displayed privately. Women defer to men in the public sphere but retain power behind the scenes. They are privately consulted and informed.

Present - focused time orientation:

• The Marshallese traditionally prioritize the people they are with in the present moment. The future is not explicitly planned for and when problems arise, goals are met cooperatively and with community support.

• This may result in a less strict adherence to schedule. Asking clarifying questions about access and what time works best will help reveal whether the appointments are realistic for the family.

• Encourage families to communicate if they are unable to attend and create an atmosphere of acceptance.

• Be explicit about expectations and consequences of behaviors that might be deemed “non-compliant”.

Privacy:

• Marshallese are generally not comfortable sharing personal medical information and have some taboos around sex and bodily functions

• Be cognizant of effect of gender (clinician and interpreter) when discussing sensitive topics.

• Make it clear that you are only asking questions you need answers to.

Generally, build rapport and trust with Marshallese families. Listen patiently and ask questions to learn more about their cultural values. It is the clinician’s role to respond to the needs of the family, not to prescribe solutions to problems the family may not consider a priority.

Language Evaluation Tools

As with all assessment for culturally and linguistically diverse populations, it is essential to determine whether the child is exhibiting a language difference or disorder. Standardized language measures should only be reported if the normative sample reflects the experience and language background of the child being assessed. Dynamic assessment and thorough ethnographic interview give the clinician insight into the child’s unique experience and ability to learn with supports. Interpreters should be used in order to assess strengths and weaknesses across English and Marshallese. Language is only considered disordered if the deficits are present across all of the child’s languages.

When assessing a child’s narrative structure, the clinician must be aware of cultural differences in narratives. Traditional storytelling is highly revered and only bestowed on a select few. The primary function of a story is to educate, but it may be withheld if it is deemed “too dangerous” or “too rich”. It is not essential to tell the whole story, but only the parts that the narrator is familiar with. The Marshallese are traditionally an oral culture, passing down these stories through spoken word. All of these factors must be considered when gathering a language sample from a child. The following resource gives examples of traditional storytelling: http://mistories.org/tales.php.

Clinical Implications for Language

When differentiating between a language difference and disorder, the clinician must take into consideration the positive and negative transference between English and Marshallese.

Effects on phonology:

• May insert glides in words with initial vowels (e.g., yapple for apple) in spoken language. This may affect their reading in English as they may want to apply this rule.

• Prosody may be affected by mora rhythm.

• Vertical vowel system means that the height of the vowel produced is the only determining factor in meaning. Front and back vowels of the same height are allophones. Eg. i or u in the same position in the same word would have the same meaning i.e. [it] or [ut] both mean eat.

Effects on morphology/syntax:

• Demonstratives and determiners follow the noun in Marshallese but precede the noun in English. This may result in word order error (e.g., My pigs three are cute).

Effects on pragmatics:

• Be cognizant that shaking hands may not be typical for the family

• Be aware that they may not address you by name.

• Taboo topics include bodily functions and sex.

• Members of the opposite sex tend to show affection in private, as it is inappropriate to do so in public.

• It is customary to offer invitations to go to their home.