submitted 9 months ago by RNAi@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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[-] CTHlurker@hexbear.net 27 points 9 months ago

Supposedly the name is the indigenous populations attempt to write down "christmas" which the british named the islands for strange anglo reasons.

[-] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 29 points 9 months ago

Kiribati comes from "Gilberts". The atoll depicted in the tweet is Kiritimati, from "Christmas", which is just one of the many atolls in Kiribati. Please be aware that "ti" is pronounced like "s".

[-] FloridaBoi@hexbear.net 13 points 9 months ago

Why did they spell it with “ti”

[-] Erika3sis@hexbear.net 20 points 9 months ago

Literally the exact same reason why we spell "nation" with "ti", except that with Gilbertese, "s" or "si" is just thought of as a regular alternate pronunciation of "ti" rather than as its own sound. The magic words here are "assibilation" and "allophony"