Trukese

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. The Micronesian language spoken on the Chuuk islands in the Pacific ; a member of the people native to Chuuk, a group of islands in Micronesia
2. An Oceanic language used by the inhabitants of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia ; someone born or descended from the people of those islands
3. The indigenous tongue of the Chuuk lagoon region ; a native inhabitant of Chuuk, the island group in the western Pacific

Etymology: Chuuk is an island group in the Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific, and "trukese" is an older spelling of "Chuukese," the name for the people and language of that region. The word follows a standard English pattern: the place name takes the suffix "-ese," which is attached to place names to form adjectives and nouns for their inhabitants and language, as in "Japanese" or "Maltese." The variant spelling "Truk" was the name used for the islands during the period of Japanese and then American administration, and "trukese" came from that form. The spelling "Chuuk" reflects the local pronunciation and was adopted to match it more closely. Both spellings refer to the same people and language.