Celebrating Kiribati Language Week

Roi Burnet is a masters student in Pacific Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland.

She is also of iKiribati and Australian European whakapapa. Roi’s research has delved into the way in which development projects, often from international aid, deal with and understand gender within iKiribati communities. She is supervised by Associate Professor Yvonne Underhill-Sem, and Roi’s findings show that, more often than not, iKiribati voices are not centred in the design of development projects and there is a negative framing of Kiribati culture with no real consideration of the effects of colonisation on the nation.

For Roi, who grew up in Dunedin which has a tight-knit Otago Kiribati community, Kiribati Language Week is an opportunity to share a part of herself with the wider community of New Zealand.

“It's the chance for us to showcase who we are and where we come from. It is our opportunity to celebrate just how beautiful our language and culture really is,” she says.

Kiribati became a Republic in 1979 and holds its Independence Day’on 12 July each year. It is an island nation in the central Pacific ocean and its nation straddles the equator. It has a permanent population of around 120,000 people and has a population of around 3,000 people in Aotearoa. Being here as part of the Kiribati diaspora, Roi feels it is imperative now more than ever that we be inclusive of all Pacific nations in all that we do.

“It is really important to have Pacific spaces but sometimes when you walk into these spaces, it can feel almost exclusionary, like there is a tendency to forget about our smaller Pacific countries, such as Kiribati.

"So it is important for things like our language week where we can say hey, we are here and we are proud of who we are too”.

Recalling her childhood, Roi explains what growing up in a home with Kiribati and European roots was like.

“It was a typical Kiribati home where there were always relatives staying with us. Grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins would come for months at a time and it was like a revolving door for the community. My mum is iKiribati from the southern islands of Beru and Onotoa. She wanted us to fit in in New Zealand so she spoke English to us instead of Kiribati. So we grew up as English speakers although now I can hold everyday conversations and understand Kiribati language well”.

Climate change is never far from mind when it comes to thinking about home for Rooi and she hopes that with the raised profile of Kiribati Language Week alongside all Pacific language weeks in Aotearoa that people are able to find time to think about Climate Change and its direct impacts on the people in the Pacific.

“We are a strong and vibrant community our iKiribati people and we are growing in numbers here in Aotearoa, our language and culture is what holds us together. Climate change threatens to take our land and displace many of us, so it is important that we hold onto our language and culture within a diaspora that will grow as our seas continue to rise."