Palauan is part of the Austronesian language family, with approximately 17,000 speakers. As a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch, Palauan is one of only two indigenous languages in Micronesia that are not part of the Oceanic sub-branch, with Chamorro. The language absorbed vocabulary from Spanish, German, Japanese, and American sources throughout different colonial periods. Historically, Palauan existed primarily as an oral tradition without a written form during the Japanese occupation from approximately 1914 to 1944, when many Japanese loanwords entered the language and replaced native Palauan vocabulary. After World War II, American influence brought English loanwords into prominence, creating generational linguistic differences where older Palauans incorporate more Japanese words while younger speakers use greater numbers of English terms. The language transitioned from oral tradition to written form using the Latin alphabet during the 20th century.
Palauan extends beyond the Republic of Palau, with speakers found in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The language is spoken at home by around 80% of the population aged five years and above in Palau, demonstrating its continued vitality despite external linguistic pressures. In the United States, according to the 2020 census, there are about 12,000 Americans of Palauan origin, with many having immigrated since the late 1940s. The Palau Association was founded in 1953 by Palauans on the American island of Guam for organized Palauan diaspora communities. This migration pattern reflects ongoing population movements as high levels of Palauans continue moving to the United States and other neighboring countries, carrying their linguistic heritage across the Pacific and maintaining cultural connections through their language.
Continue reading to learn how to accurately work with Palauan as an educator or SLP
Interesting Facts About Palauan Speech and Language Development
- Palauans have different numbers for different objects. For example, to count people, it is: ta, teru, tede, teua, teim…
- Palau experienced 150 years of occupation before independence, which affected language development. The society is multilingual as a result of a 150-year occupation by other countries before its independence in 1994.
- Japanese is still spoken by some older Palauans and is official in Angaur.
Palauan Speech and Language Development
Palauan Speech and Language Development Consonants in Comparison to English
| Palauan Consonants Not Shared with English | ɸ and β (bilabial fricatives), x and ɣ (velar fricatives), ɦ, ʟ (velar lateral), ɾ (flap) |
| Consonants Shared With English | /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ /s/ /z/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /j/ /l/ /w/ |
| English Consonants Not Shared with Palauan | /h/ (English has h, Palauan has ɦ), /θ/, /ð/, /ɹ/ |
Palauan Vowels in Comparison to English
| Palauan Vowels Not Shared with English | /ɨ, ɐ, ɒ/ central and back vowels |
| Vowels Shared With English | /i/, /e/, /ə/, /ɛ/, /u/, /a/ |
| English Vowels Not Shared with Palauan | /ɚ/ (rhotic vowel), /ɔ/, /ʌ/, /ʊ/, /I/, /æ/ |
Notes on Palauan Phonology
- Palauan has a small consonant inventory (~10 phonemes) and six vowel phonemes, with several allophones and diphthongs occurring in practice.
- Many English consonants such as /θ/, /ð/, /ɹ/ and vowels like /ɚ/, /ʊ/, /æ/ use articulatory and phonetic contrasts absent in Palauan.
The Use of Phonotactic Constraints in Palauan Speakers
- Word-initial vowels trigger an epenthetic /ŋ/
Native words that historically began with a vowel now begin with a velar nasal /ŋ/ at the start of the word (e.g. ŋak ‘I/me’). This helps avoid vowel-initial onsets. (julietteblevins.ws.gc.cuny.edu) - Simple syllable structure (CV or CVC only)
Palauan allows only simple syllables—either vowel-only, consonant–vowel, or consonant–vowel–consonant. Complex consonant clusters in onsets or nuclei are not native. (ResearchGate) - Singleton consonants only; no true consonant clusters across syllables
There are no native consonant clusters in onsets or codas except resulting from syncopation in possessive or reduced forms, and consonants must be separated by vowels or syllable break. (Wikipedia, manifold.uhpress.hawaii.edu) - Medial consonant clusters due to syncopation are avoided or simplified
When affixes or vowel reduction cause consonant clusters (e.g. relm → lm·ek), these are simplified or separated via syllabification. (Wikipedia) - No word-final consonant clusters
Words typically end in a single consonant or vowel; clusters at the end are largely avoided except in certain reduced forms. (Wikipedia, manifold.uhpress.hawaii.edu) - Adapted loanwords must conform to Palauan structure
Borrowed words from English, Japanese, or Spanish are restructured to fit CV or CVC forms, sometimes by inserting vowels or changing consonant features (e.g. English /θ/ becomes /t̪/ or /s/ in Palauan adaptation; /p/ becomes /b/ word-initially). (Yale Linguistics)
Summary of Key Constraints
| Constraint | Description |
|---|---|
| Word‑initial vowels | Avoid vowel-initial; require epenthetic /ŋ/ |
| Syllable structure | Strictly CV or CVC; no native CC clusters |
| Medial/coda clusters | Rare; result from affixation or vowel loss and are simplified |
| Word‑final clusters | Prohibited or heavily restricted |
| Loanword adaptation | Non-native consonants reshaped; structural repairs to fit Palauan phonotactics |
Language Specific Differences Between English and Palauan
Palauan and English differ in several key grammatical ways. Palauan typically follows a verb–object–subject (VOS) order (though some analyses interpret it as subject–verb–object), while English is rigidly SVO. Palauan lacks articles (no “the” or “a/an”), marking definiteness instead through strategies like object markers. Nouns inflect for possessive suffixes, and plural human nouns take a special prefix (re-), whereas English uses separate plural forms or articles. Pronouns in Palauan do not distinguish gender, verbs are richly inflected with aspect and subject agreement, and double negatives are absent, compared to English grammar.
| Language Features | Palauan | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence Word Order | VOS word order typical; pro‑drop with preverbal agreement markers; clause‑final subjects frequent | SVO with inversion for questions |
| Adjectives / Noun Modifiers | Adjectives follow noun; descriptive modifiers after head noun | Adjectives precede noun |
| Possessives | Possession shown by suffixes on noun (e.g., -ak, -au) | ’s or “of” constructions |
| Possessive Pronouns | Possessor suffixes on noun; must match person/number (e.g., ngalekek “my child”) | mine, yours, his/her |
| Verb inflection | Rich verb morphology: markers for tense, aspect, subject agreement; perfective/present forms via affixes and reduplication | Limited inflection, uses auxiliaries |
| Pronouns | Independent and bound pronouns; pronominal subjects often null or marked on verb | Subjects must be explicit |
| Pronoun Gender | No gender distinctions; one form covers he/she/it (ngii, ng); plural human separate with tȩ | Gendered pronouns (he/she) |
| Subjects of Sentences | Often omitted; indicated morphologically or placed after verb clause‑finally | Subjects explicit |
| Regular Past Tense | Past marked by verb infix above, e.g., milenga + perfective -l-; uses auxiliary mla as needed | Regular verbs add ‑ed |
| Irregular Past Tense | Irregularity in stems and metathesis; but formation fairly regular via suffixes/infixes | Many unpredictable irregular verbs |
| Negatives | Negative stem suffixes or separate negator; double negatives rare | Uses not after auxiliary/modal |
| Double Negatives | Generally avoided or not grammatical | Generally nonstandard |
| Question formation | Wh‑questions formed without wh-movement; yes/no via intonation or particle; no do‑support | Uses do‑support and inversion |
| Definite Articles | None; definiteness inferred via context or particles like a preceding noun | Uses the |
| Indefinite Articles | None; indefiniteness via context or numeral one/bir equivalent | Uses a/an |
| Prepositions | Use relational marker ȩr or postpositions; case marking rather than prepositions | Prepositions before noun |
| Present Progressive Verb Form | No separate ‑ing form; context or affixes/distribution convey progressive; indicates imperfective aspect | am/is/are + ‑ing |
| Modal Verbs | Modal meanings expressed via separate verbs or particles (e.g., mamang, menga) | Uses modal auxiliaries |
| Copula/”To Be” Verbs | Often omitted; existential/state expressed by verb forms or copula-less structures | Uses explicit am/is/are |
| Auxiliary Verbs | Few auxiliaries; aspect and voice largely inflectional | Uses be, have, do auxiliaries |
| Passive Voice | Formed periphrastically or via participial constructions; less common | be + past participle |
| Direct Object Pronouns | Objects expressed via suffixes or zero object pronoun; omitted if context clear | Separate pronouns after verb |
| Conjunctions | Coordinating conjunctions like kela (and), mededech (but); clause linking via particles also available | and, but, because, etc. |
| Plurals | Human plural formed with prefix rȩ-; non-human nouns unmarked for plural | Typically add ‑s or ‑es |
Additional Austronesian Languages
This is just one of over ten Austronesian languages that we have documented in the World Language Library. Click below to explore languages spanning the Philippines, Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia.
| Tagalog/Filipino | Ilocano (Ilocos region, Philippines) | Malay |
| Indonesian | Chamorro (Guam) | Palauan (Micronesia) |
| Māori | Hawaiian | Samoan |
| Chuukese | Marshallese | Pohnpeian |
| Vietnamese |
Sources:
Ash, Karen. “Palauan Phonological Adaptations in Loanwords.” Yale Linguistic Papers, University of Hawai‘i, 2002 (excerpted).
Blevins, Juliette, and Daniel Kaufman. “Origins of Palauan Intrusive Velar Nasals.” Oceanic Linguistics, vol. 51, no. 1, June 2012.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Palauan Language.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 July 1998.
“Cultural Diversity and Demographics of Palau.” Mexico Historico.
Georgopoulos, Carol. “Palauan: A Sketch of the Grammar.” In Syntactic Variables, edited by*, Springer, 1991.
Josephs, Lewis S. Palauan Reference Grammar. University of Hawai‘i Press, 1975.
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Nuger, J. (2008). Variations on the Palauan theme. University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
“Palau.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 days ago.
“Palau – 2024 – III.B. Overview of the State.” MCHB.
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“Palauan Language.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Apr. 2025.
“Palauan language.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, updated April 2025, accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
Britain, Matsumoto. “Palauan English.” Palauan English, 2018.
Tekinged.com. (n.d.). Palauan pronouns. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
Tiberius, C. (n.d.). Palauan language report. Surrey Morphology Group. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
“What Languages Are Spoken in Palau?” WorldAtlas, 5 Sept. 2017.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Palauan English. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
Contributors:
A special thanks to Anissa Danielle Hernandez with Our Lady of the Lake University for data compilation and research that went into this article!
