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".
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"
Supposedly the name is the indigenous populations attempt to write down "christmas" which the british named the islands for strange anglo reasons.
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".
Why did they spell it with “ti”
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"