Kosraean language

Kosraean /koʊˈʃaɪən/, sometimes rendered Kusaiean, is the language spoken on the islands of Kosrae (Kusaie), Caroline Islands, and Nauru. In 2001 there were approximately 8,000 speakers.

Kosraean features possessive classes such as "sihk" for "mine" when referring to dwellings, and "nihmuhk" for "mine" when referring to drinks.

Introduction

History

Kosrae has been a country where it has been colonized since at least the 17th century. According to Wikipedia, the island was under nominal Spanish sovereignty since 1668, but it was not effectively occupied until 1885. The Spaniards converted the people to Christianity and had control over the island until 1898 when the Spaniards lost the Spanish–American War to the United States. Wikipedia says that Spain sold the Carolinas islands (where Kosrae is located) to Germany for 25 million pesetas. Now it became under German control, until they were defeated in World War 1, where then the island fell under the Empire of Japan’s control. The colonization by so many countries resulted in many of the Kosraean people being bilingual as some of them are still able to speak Japanese. After World War Two ended, administration of the island was passed to the United States until 1986 when they became independent.