About me and my language community

Name: Umeyo Momotaro
Contact: umeyom

Iakwe! Eta in Umeyo.  Moktata, kommolol Anij kon an letok iien in emman nan ao  maron in bok konaa ilo program in LDTC.

Hi there! My name is Umeyo.  I am a graduate student in the Urban Planning Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Just a background of myself, I am from the Marshall Islands and hence a speaker of the Marshallese language.  At home, I speak Marshallese to my parents and my grandmother.  Overall, there are roughly 50,000 speakers of the Marshallese language.  Our community believes that preserving the Marshallese language through spoken and written communication is important.  We have a saying where it goes: “Our language is our identity.”  I truly believe this and as I continue to delve into my culture and heritage, I hope to keep my language thriving through documentation and ongoing learning.

I would like to thank the LDTC program and my mentor Trent for allowing me the opportunity to share my language and giving me the best experience throughout this semester.