Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Chuukese language

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Region
  
Chuuk

ISO 639-2
  
chk

Native speakers
  
51,000 (2000 census)

Native to
  
Federated States of Micronesia

Language family
  
Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Oceanic Micronesian Nuclear Micronesian Chuukic-Pohnpeic Chuukic Chuukese

Official language in
  
Federated States of Micronesia

Chuukese /ˈkz/, also rendered Trukese /trʌˈkz/, is a Trukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are communities of speakers on Pohnpei and Guam as well. Estimates show that there are about 45,900 speakers in Micronesia.

Phonology

Chuukese has the unusual feature of permitting word-initial geminate (double) consonants. The common ancestor of Western Micronesian languages is believed to have had this feature, but most of its modern descendants have lost it.

Truk and Chuuk are a difference in orthography, and both older tr and current ch transcribe the sound [tʂ].

References

Chuukese language Wikipedia