Nauruan — known in the language itself as Dorerin Naoero — is a Micronesian Austronesian language spoken by approximately 7,000 people on the island of Nauru, making it one of the world's smallest language communities. It is the sole language indigenous to Nauru and is a source of strong national identity for Nauruans. Despite Nauru's small population and the widespread use of English in official and commercial contexts, Nauruan has remained a living, actively spoken language within families and communities.
Nauruan is classified within the Micronesian branch of the Austronesian language family, related to languages such as Marshallese, Gilbertese (Kiribati), and Carolinian, though it is sufficiently distinct that it is not mutually intelligible with any of them. The Nauruan writing system uses a Latin alphabet with some modified letters and digraphs introduced during German colonial administration (Nauru was a German protectorate from 1888 to 1914). The orthography was standardized during the 20th century, though older documents may show spelling variations reflecting earlier conventions.
For government and official purposes, English is the primary working language of Nauru. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, court documents, and government correspondence are issued in English, making most Nauruan official documents directly readable by English-speaking foreign authorities. However, Nauruan personal names, place names, and community terms may appear in Nauruan script on official documents and require accurate rendering in translation. Our translators ensure that Nauruan names — which may include consonant clusters and letter combinations unfamiliar to English readers — are accurately and consistently transliterated across all translated documents, which is critical for immigration applications where name consistency across documents is carefully checked.
