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Wikipedia

Fijian language

Fijian (Na vosa vaka-Viti) is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000–450,000 ethnic Fijians as a native language. The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Fiji Hindi and there is discussion about establishing it as the "national language". Fijian is a VOS language.[2]

Fijian
Vosa Vaka-Viti
Native toFiji
EthnicityFijians
Native speakers
(339,210 cited 1996 census)[1]
320,000 second-language users (1991)
Dialects
Latin-based
Official status
Official language in
 Fiji
Language codes
ISO 639-1fj
ISO 639-2fij
ISO 639-3fij
Glottologfiji1243
Linguasphere39-BBA-a
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
A Fijian speaker, recorded in Fiji.

Standard Fijian is based on the Bau dialect, which is an East Fijian language. A pidginized form is used by many Indo-Fijians and Chinese on the islands, while Pidgin Hindustani is used by many rural ethnic Fijians and Chinese in areas dominated by Indo-Fijians.

History edit

History of the language edit

The Fijian language was introduced to Fiji c. 3500 years ago by the islands' first settlers. For millennia, it was the only spoken language in Fiji. In 1835, Methodist missionaries from Australia worked in Fiji to develop a written form of the language. By 1840, they had already developed a writing system, and had published various books on the different dialects of the language. After the independence of Fiji in 1970, Fijian has been used in radio, television, books, and periodicals, and has been taught in schools.

National language debate edit

In May and June of 2005, several prominent Fijians sought to promote the status of the Fijian language. Fiji had no official language before the 1997 Constitution, which made the Fijian language co-official with English and Fiji Hindi; however, it was not required to be taught in schools. The minister of education, Ro Teimumu Kepa, has also supported appeals to Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs Ratu Ovini Bokini. Similar appeals have been made by Misiwini Qereqeretabua, Director of the Institute of Language and Culture, and by Apolonia Tamata, a linguistics professor at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. They have stated that recognition of the Fijian language is essential for the basic identity of the nation and acts as a unifying factor for the multicultural society of Fiji.

Mahendra Chaudhry, the leader of the Fiji Labour Party, also supported the cause to make Fijian a national language and a compulsory subject in schools with the same status as Fiji Hindi, a position echoed by Krishna Vilas of the National Reconciliation Committee.

Phonology edit

The consonant phonemes of Fijian are as shown in the following table:

Fijian consonant phonemes
Labial Coronal Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive voiceless (p) t (tʃ) k (ʔ)
prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd (ⁿdʒ) ᵑɡ
Fricative voiceless (f) s (x) (h)
voiced β ð
Trill plain r
prenasalized ᶯɖʳ
Approximant w l j

The consonant written ⟨dr⟩ has been described as a prenasalized trill [ⁿr] or trilled affricate [ndr]. However, it is only rarely pronounced with a trilled release; the primary feature distinguishing it from ⟨d⟩ is that it is postalveolar, [ɳɖ], rather than dental/alveolar.[3]

The sounds [p] and [f] occur only in loanwords from other languages. The sounds [x] and [h] only occur for speakers from certain regions of the country.

The sounds [tʃ] and [ⁿdʒ] occur as allophones of /t/ and /ⁿd/.

The glottal stop /ʔ/ occurs in the Boumaa Fijian used to illustrate this article, but is not found in the standard language. It descends from an earlier /k/ sound in most Fijian dialects.

Note the difference in place of articulation between the voiced-voiceless fricative pairs: bilabial [β] vs. labiodental [f], and dental [ð] vs. alveolar [s].

The vowel phonemes are:

Monophthongs
Front Central Back
short long short long short long
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a
Falling diphthongs
Second component
/i/ /u/
First component /e/ ei̯ eu̯
/o/ oi̯ ou̯
/a/ ai̯ au̯

In addition, there is the rising diphthong i̯u.

Syllables can consist of a consonant followed by a vowel (CV) or a single vowel (V).[4]Word stress is based on moras: a short vowel is one mora, diphthongs and long vowels are two morae. Primary stress is on the penultimate mora of the phonological word. That is, if the last syllable of a word is short, then the penultimate syllable will be stressed, while if the last syllable contains either a long vowel or a diphthong, then it receives primary stress. Stress is not lexical and can shift when suffixes are attached to the root. Examples:

  • Stress on the penultimate syllable (final short vowel): síga, "day";
  • Stress on the final syllable (diphthong): cauravóu, "youth" (the stress extends over the whole diphthong).
  • Stress shift: cábe, "kick" → cabé-ta, "kick-TR"[5]

Orthography edit

The Fijian alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of the following letters.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w y z

Among the consonants, there is almost a one-to-one correspondence between letters and phonemes:

  • b = [ᵐb]
  • c = [ð]
  • d = [ⁿd] (di = [ⁿdʒi])
  • f = [f]
  • g = [ŋ]
  • h = [h] ~ [x]
  • j = [tʃ] ~ [ⁿdʒ]
  • k = [k]
  • l = [l]
  • m = [m]
  • n = [n] (nr = [ᶯɖ])
  • p = [p]
  • q = [ᵑɡ]
  • r = [r]
  • s = [s]
  • t = [t] (ti = [tʃi])
  • v = [β]
  • w = [ɰ]
  • y = [j] or silent
  • z = [ⁿdʒ]

In the 1980s, scholars compiling a dictionary added several more consonants and a few consonant clusters to the alphabet. These newcomers were necessary to handle words entering Standard Fijian from not only English, but from other Fijian languages or dialects as well. These are the most important additions: z (nj), as in ziza 'ginger' and h (h), as in haya 'hire'.[6]

For phonological reasons ti and di are pronounced [tʃi], [ⁿdʒi] rather than [ti], [ⁿdi] (cf. Japanese chi kana, or in standard Brazilian Portuguese). Hence, the Fijian name for Fiji, Viti, from an allophonic pronunciation of [βitʃi] as [ɸidʒi].

In addition, the digraph dr stands for retroflex [ᶯɖ], or a prenasalized trill [ɳɖr] in careful pronunciation, or more commonly for some people and in some dialects.

The vowel letters a e i o u have roughly their IPA values, [a ɛ~e i ɔ~o u]. The vowel length contrast is not usually indicated in writing, except in dictionaries and textbooks for learners of the language, where it is indicated by a macron over the vowel in question; Dixon, in the work cited below, doubles all long vowels in his spelling system. Diphthongs are ai au ei eu oi ou and iu, pronounced [ɛi̯ ɔu̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ i̯u].

Morpho-syntax edit

Note: the examples in this section are from Boumaa dialect. It is not Standard Fijian, which is based on the Bauan dialect.

Negation edit

In order to negate a phrase or clause in Fijian, certain verbs are used to create this distinction. These verbs of negation are known as semi-auxiliary verbs. Semi-auxiliary verbs fulfil the functions of main verbs (in terms of syntactic form and pattern) and have a NP or complement clause as their subject[7] (complements clauses within negation are introduced by relators ni (which refers to an event, which is generally a non-specific unit) or me (which refers is translated as "should", referring to the event within the complement clause should occur)).[8] Within a complement clause, the semi-auxiliary verb qualifies the predicate.[7]

Semi-auxiliary verbs edit

One semi-auxiliary verb used to express negation in Fijian is sega. This semi-auxiliary can be translated as either "there are no-" or "it is not the case that", depending on the subject it relates to.[9] In terms of numerical expression, sega is also used to express the quantity "none".[10] This negator can be used in almost all situations, with the exception of the imperative or in a me (classifier) clauses.[9] When sega takes a NP as its subject, the meaning "there are no-" is assumed:

(1)[9]

e

3SG

sega

not

a

ART

ꞌolii

dog

(i+na

in+ART

ꞌoro

village

yai)

this

e sega a ꞌolii (i+na ꞌoro yai)

3SG not ART dog in+ART village this

"there are no dogs (in this village)"

Predicate clauses can also be negated in Fijian with the semi-auxiliary verb sega. This can only be completed when the predicate is placed into a complement clause.[9] The subject of sega must also be ni, which introduces the complement clause. It is then translated as "it is not the case that (predicate clause)".[9] An example of this construction is shown here:

(2)[9]

e

3SG

sega

not

[ni

that

laꞌo

go

o

ART

Jone]

John

e sega [ni laꞌo o Jone]

3SG not that go ART John

"John is not going (lit: it is not the case that John is going)"

Hence, the only way a verb (which is generally the head of a predicate phrase) can be negated in Fijian is when it forms part of the [e sega ni VERB] construction.[9] However, in Fijian the head of a predicate phrase may belong to almost any word class. If another word (e.g. a noun) is used, the structure of negation alters.[9] This distinction can be shown through diverse examples of the negating NPs in Fijian. The below examples show the difference between a noun as the head of a NP and a noun as the head of a predicate in a complement clause, within negation:

NP as subject of sega
(3)[9]

e

3SG

sega

not

a

ART

ꞌolii

dog

e sega a ꞌolii

3SG not ART dog

"there is no dog"

Ni as the subject of sega
(4)[9]

e

3SG

sega

not

ni

that

ꞌolii

dog

e sega ni ꞌolii

3SG not that dog

"it isn't a dog (it may be a cat)"

Additionally, sega can also work with relator se which introduces interrogative clauses.[11] This combination creates a form translatable as "or not":

(5)[12]

au

1SG

tovele-a

test-TR

se

whether

ꞌana

eat

vinaꞌa

good

a

ART

ꞌaa.ꞌana

food

yai

this

(se

or

sega)

not

au tovele-a se ꞌana vinaꞌa a ꞌaa.ꞌana yai (se sega)

1SG test-TR whether eat good ART food this or not

"I'll test whether this food tastes good or not"

Another common negator is ꞌua or waaꞌua, which is translatable as "don't, not".[7] Differently to sega, this semi-auxiliary verb is used for imperatives and in me clauses. Therefore, these semi-auxiliaries are fixed, and cannot be used interchangeably.[13] ꞌUa and waaꞌua have the same meaning, however waaꞌua may be more intense; in most instances either semi-auxiliary verb can be used.[13] ꞌua ~ waaꞌua can take a NP as its subject, but most commonly takes the ni complement as a subject,[14] which is demonstrated below:

(6)[14]

e

3SG

aa

PAST

taqo.-maꞌini

defend-TR

au

1SG

o

ART

Jone

Person

me+u

should+1SG

ꞌua

not

ni

that

lau-.vacu

PASS-punch

e aa taqo.-maꞌini au o Jone me+u ꞌua ni lau-.vacu

3SG PAST defend-TR 1SG ART Person should+1SG not that PASS-punch

"John defended me from being punched (lit: that I should not be punched)"

An example of ꞌua ~ waaꞌua used in imperative structure can be seen here:

(7)[15]

au

1SG

saa

ASP

vei-.vutuni.-taꞌina

repent-TR

sara

MODIF

me+u

should+1SG

saa

ASP

waaꞌua

not

ni

INT

vaꞌa-.yaco-ra

make-happen-TR

tale

again

a

ART

caꞌa.caꞌa

REDUP-do

yai

INT

i+na

on+ART

siga.tabu

Sunday

au saa vei-.vutuni.-taꞌina sara me+u saa waaꞌua ni vaꞌa-.yaco-ra tale a caꞌa.caꞌa yai i+na siga.tabu

1SG ASP repent-TR MODIF should+1SG ASP not INT make-happen-TR again ART REDUP-do INT on+ART Sunday

"I repented (of hunting pigs on the sabbath) so that I won't ever again do this activity on Sunday"

In the case of pronouns, they can only be negated when they form part of the NP, when acting as the predicate head.[16] Therefore, pronouns cannot be the NP subject of semi-auxiliary verbs sega or ꞌua ~ waaꞌua in the way that general nouns can [16]

Combining semi-auxiliary verbs edit

Sega and ꞌua ~ waaꞌua can be combined with other auxiliary verbs to produce diverse constructions.[17] Both sega and ꞌua ~ waaꞌua can connect with semi-auxiliary rawa ("can") to negate the concept of possibility which is attached to the verb 'can' (resulting in constructions such as "can't" and "shouldn't"). [18]

Modifiers in negation edit

Two main modifiers, soti ('a lot') and sara ('very; (go) right on, immediately') play key roles in negation in Fijian, and work in conjunction with semi-auxiliary verbs. Soti is added after negators sega and ꞌua ~ waaꞌua, and functions as an intensity marker.[19] The construction sega soti is translatable as 'not a lot of, not very'. The sega soti construction requires an adjective (or an adverb which results from an adjective), and must take ni (complement clause) as its subject in order to function.[19] Soti can be found in position immediately after sega, but may also be found after the ni relator without changing the meaning of the phrase.[20] The primary construction is shown below:

(8)[19]

au

1SG

sega

not

soti

INT

ni

SUB

vuꞌu

clever

me

should

tautauvata

same

ꞌei

with

Sepo

Person

au sega soti ni vuꞌu me tautauvata ꞌei Sepo

1SG not INT SUB clever should same with Person

"I'm not as clever as Sepo (lit: I am not clever, to be the same as Sepo)"

Similarly, to soti, the modifier sara ('very; (go) right on, immediately') can also be used in conjunction with sega and ꞌua ~ waaꞌua. This combination is used to stress the negative sense and aspect of a phrase:[20]

(9)[20]

ꞌua

don't

ni

INT

laꞌi

go

taaoo

held-up

tale

again

i

AT

Viidawa,

Viidawa

laꞌo

go

sara

INT

i

to

ꞌOrovou!

ꞌOrovou

ꞌua ni laꞌi taaoo tale i Viidawa, laꞌo sara i ꞌOrovou!

don't INT go held-up again AT Viidawa go INT to ꞌOrovou

"don't get held up at Viidawa (a place en route, where there may be some enticing event in progress), go straight on to ꞌOrovou!"

Pronouns and person markers edit

The pronominal system of Fijian is remarkably rich. Like many other languages, it recognises three persons; first person (speaker), second person (addressee), and third person (all other). There is no distinction between human, non-human, animate, or inanimate.[21] Four numbers are represented; singular, dual, paucal, and plural—'paucal' refers to more than two people who have some relationship, as a family or work group; if none, 'plural' is used. Like many other Oceanic languages, Fijian pronouns are marked for number and clusivity.[22]

Boumaa Fijian pronouns[23]
Person Number
singular dual paucal plural
1INCL subject (e)taru tou (e)ta
object ꞌeetaru ꞌetatou ꞌeta
cardinal ꞌeetaru ꞌetatou ꞌeta
1EXCL subject au ~ u ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimami
object au ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimami
cardinal yau ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimami
2 subject o (o)mudrau ~ (o)drau (o)mudou ~ (o)dou (o)munuu ~ (o)nuu
object iꞌo ꞌemudrau ꞌemudou ꞌemunuu
cardinal iꞌo ꞌemudrau ꞌemudou ꞌemunuu
3 subject e (e)rau (e)ratou (e)ra
object ꞌea rau iratou ira
cardinal ꞌea (i)rau (i)ratou (i)ra

Forms and function edit

Each pronoun can have five forms, but some person-number combinations may have the same form for more than one function,[24] as can be seen in the table above.

The forms are:

Cardinal – used when a pronoun occurs as the head of a NP. A cardinal pronoun is usually preceded by the proper article o, except when preceded by a preposition:

(1)[24]

era

3PL

sa

ASP

laꞌo

go

[o

ART

ira]

3PL

era sa laꞌo [o ira]

3PL ASP go ART 3PL

"They are going" (2)[24]

(2)[24]

au

1SG

aa

PAST

soli-a

give-TR

[a

ART

niu]

coconut

[vei

PREP

ira]

3PL

au aa soli-a [a niu] [vei ira]

1SG PAST give-TR ART coconut PREP 3PL

"I gave [the coconut] [to them]"

Subject – the first constituent of a predicate, acts as person marking. Examples can be seen in examples (1) and (2) above: era and au, and (3) below: o

Object – follows the -i-final form of a transitive verb:

(3)[24]

o

2SG

aa

PAST

biu-ti

leave-TR

ira

3PL

o aa biu-ti ira

2SG PAST leave-TR 3PL

"You left them"

Possessive suffix – attaches to inalienable nouns, and

Possessive – precedes the NP head of the 'possessed' constituent in a possessive construction.

(For more information on the form and function of these possessive pronouns, see Possession.)

Use edit

The major clausal structure in Fijian minimally includes a predicate, which usually has a verb at its head.[25] The initial element in the predicate is the subject form pronoun:

(4a)[25]

au

1SG

laꞌo

go

au laꞌo

1SG go

"I am going"

(4b)

era

3PL

laꞌo

go

era laꞌo

3PL go

"They are going"

This 'subject marker + verb' predicate construction is obligatory, every other constituent is optional. The subject may be expanded upon by an NP following the predicate:

(5)[25]

era

3PL

laꞌo

go

[a

ART

gone]

child

era laꞌo [a gone]

3PL go ART child

"[the children] are going" or "They [the children] are going"

The subject pronoun constituent of a predicate acts mainly as a person marker.

Fijian is a verb–object–subject language, and the subject pronoun may be translated as its equivalent in English, the subject NP of a clause in Fijian follows the verb and the object if it is included.

The social use of pronouns is largely driven by respect and hierarchy. Each of the non-singular second person pronouns can be used for a singular addressee. For example, if one's actual or potential in-laws are addressed, the 2DU pronoun should be used. Similarly, when a brother or sister of the opposite sex is addressed, the 2PA pronoun should be used, and it can also be used for same-sex siblings when the speaker wishes to show respect. The 2PL pronoun can be used to show respect to elders, particularly the village chief.[24]

Possession edit

Possession is a grammatical term for a special relationship between two entities: a "possessor" and a "possessed". The relationship may be one of legal ownership, but in Fijian, like many other Austronesian languages, it is often much broader, encompassing kin relations, body parts, parts of an inanimate whole and personal qualities and concepts such as control, association and belonging.

Fijian has a complex system of possessive constructions, depending on the nature of the possessor and of the possessed. Choosing the appropriate structure depends on knowing[26] whether the possessor is a personal or place name, a pronoun, or a common noun (with human or non-human, animate or inanimate reference), and also on whether the possessed is a free or bound noun.

Possessor edit

Only an animate noun may be a possessor in the true possessive constructions shown below, with possession marked on the possessed NP in a number of ways. For personal and place name possessors, the possessive construction may be made by affixing the possessive suffix –i to the possessed noun, bound or free. If the possessor is a pronoun, the possessed noun must be marked by one of the pronominal markers which specify person, number and inclusivity/exclusivity (see table). If the possessor is inanimate, the possessive particle ni is usually placed between the possessed NP and the possessor NP. The particle ni then indicates association, rather than formal possession, but the construction is still regarded as a possessive construction.

Possessed edit

Free nouns can stand alone and need no affix; most nouns in Fijian fall into this class. Bound nouns require a suffix to complete them and are written ending in a hyphen to indicate this requirement. Tama- (father) and tina- (mother) are examples of bound nouns. The classes of free and bound nouns roughly correspond with the concept, common in Austronesian languages, of alienable and inalienable possession, respectively. Alienable possession denotes a relationship in which the thing possessed is not culturally considered an inherent part of the possessor, and inalienable possession indicates a relationship in which the possessed is regarded as an intrinsic part of the possessor.

Body parts and kin relations are typical examples of inalienable possession. Inanimate objects are typical examples of alienable possession.

The alienable nature of free nouns is further marked by prefixes, known as classifiers, indicating certain other characteristics. Some common examples are me- when the possessed noun is something drinkable, ke- (or ꞌe) when the noun is something edible and we- when the referent of the possessed noun is personal property.

Fijian possessive pronominal suffix markers[27]
Single Dual Paucal Plural
1st person exclusive -qu -irau -itou -imami
inclusive -daru -datou -da
2nd person -mu -mudrau -mudou -muni
3rd person -na -drau -dratou -dra

Possessive constructions edit

Source:[28]

The word order of a possessive construction for all except inanimate possessors is possessed NP-classifier(CLF) + possessive marker (POSS) + possessor NP.

For an inanimate possessor, the word order is possessed NP + ni + possessor NP.

POSSESSED POSSESSED
POSSESSOR bound noun free noun
personal or place name suffix -i (example 1) classifier plus suffix -i; or suffix -i (example 2)
pronoun pronominal suffix; or suffix -i (example 3a, b) classifier plus possessor pronoun (example 4a, b)
human noun pronominal suffix, expanded by post-head possessor NP; or suffix -i; or NP ni NP (example 5) classifier plus possessor pronoun, expanded by post-head possessor NP (example 6)
animate noun NP ni NP ; or pronominal suffix, expanded by post-head possessor NP NP ni NP; or classifier plus possessor pronoun, expanded by post-head possessor NP
inanimate noun NP ni NP (example 7, 8) NP ni NP (example 7, 8)

Note that there is some degree of flexibility in the use of possessive constructions as described in this table.

Examples edit

a

ART

liga-i

hand-POSS

Paula

Paula

a liga-i Paula

ART hand-POSS Paula

"Paula's hand"

a

ART

waqona

kava

me-i

CLF.drink-POSS

Paula

Paula

a waqona me-i Paula

ART kava CLF.drink-POSS Paula

"Paula's kava"

a

ART

tama-mudrau

father-PN.2DU

a tama-mudrau

ART father-PN.2DU

"The father of you two"

a

ART

liga-qu

hand-PN.1SG

a liga-qu

ART hand-PN.1SG

"My hand"

a

ART

me-na

CLF.drink-POSS.PN.3SG

ti

tea

a me-na ti

ART CLF.drink-POSS.PN.3SG tea

"His / her tea"

a

ART

ꞌe-mu

CLF.eat-POSS-PN.2SG

uvi

yam

a ꞌe-mu uvi

ART CLF.eat-POSS-PN.2SG yam

"Your (SG) yam (for eating)."

a

ART

liga-na

hand-PN.3SG

a liga-na

ART hand-PN.3SG

His / her hand

a

ART

we-irau

CLF.property-POSS.PN.1DU

waqa

boat

o

ART

yau

I

ei

and

Jone

John

a we-irau waqa o yau ei Jone

ART CLF.property-POSS.PN.1DU boat ART I and John

John's and my boat (thing owned).

na

ART

yaca

name

ni

POSS.PTCP

waqa

boat

na yaca ni waqa

ART name POSS.PTCP boat

The name of the boat (The name associated with the boat)

a

vale

ni

kana

a vale ni kana

ART house POSS.PTCP eat

Syntax edit

The normal Fijian word order is VOS (verb–object–subject):

E

3SG-SUB

rai-c-a

see-TR-3SG-OBJ

na

the

no-na

3SG-POSS

motoka

car

o Jone.

John.

E rai-c-a na no-na motoka {o Jone.}

3SG-SUB see-TR-3SG-OBJ the 3SG-POSS car John.

John sees his car.

Sample phrases edit

Greetings edit

Below are some examples of Fijian greetings.[29]

Fijian English IPA
Au domoni iko. I love you. [ɔu̯ ⁿdo.mo.ni i.ko]
bula hello (literally "life") [ᵐbu.la]
io yes [io]
kerekere please [ke.re.ke.re]
moce goodbye [mo.ðe]
ni sa bula [vinaka] hello (formal), welcome [ni sa ᵐbu.la]
sega no [se.ŋa]
sega na leqa no worries [se.ŋa na le.ᵑɡa]
sota tale see you later [so.ta ta.le]
Vacava tiko? How are you? [βa.ða.βa ti.ko]
vinaka thank you [βi.na.ka]
yadra good morning [ja.ɳɖʳa]

Sample text edit

Era sucu ena galala na tamata yadua, era tautauvata ena nodra dokai kei na nodra dodonu. E tiko na nodra vakasama kei na nodra lewaeloma, sa dodonu mera veidokadokai ena yalo ni veitacini.

(All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

Grammatical abbreviations edit

Abbreviations and Constructions
1 first person
2 second person
3 third person
ART article
ASP aspect
CLF numeral classifier
MODIF modifier
NP noun phrase
PTCP participle
PASS passive voice
PAST past tense
PL plural
POSS possessive
PREP preposition
PN pronoun
REDUP reduplication
SG singular
TR transitive

MODIF:modifier

National language debate edit

In May and June 2005, a number of prominent Fiji Islanders called for the status of Fijian to be upgraded. It was not an official language before the adoption of the 1997 Constitution, which made it co-official with English and Fiji Hindi. It is still not a compulsory subject in schools[when?], but then Education Minister, Ro Teimumu Kepa, had endorsed calls for that to change, as had the former Great Council of Chiefs Chairman Ratu Ovini Bokini. Similar calls also came from Misiwini Qereqeretabua, the former Director of the Institute of Fijian Language and Culture, and from Apolonia Tamata, a linguistics lecturer at Suva's University of the South Pacific, both of whom said that recognition of the Fijian language is essential to the nation's basic identity and as a unifying factor in Fiji's multicultural society.

The Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry also endorsed the call for Fijian to be made a national language and a compulsory school subject if the same status was given to Fiji Hindi, a position that was echoed by Krishna Vilas of the National Reconciliation Committee.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Fijian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ [1] WALS – Fijian
  3. ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6. p 122, 131. The authors use the transcription ⟨nḍ⟩, where the sub-dot is their convention for a postalveolar stop that is not prototypically retroflex.
  4. ^ Dixon 1988:15.
  5. ^ Dixon 1988:17
  6. ^ Schütz, Albert J., 1936- (2003). Say it in Fijian : an entertaining introduction to the standard language of Fiji. Textbook Wholesalers Ltd. ISBN 1862730385. OCLC 156199054.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 279
  8. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 268-271
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 40
  10. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 141
  11. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 270
  12. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 271
  13. ^ a b Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 281
  14. ^ a b Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 282
  15. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. p. 294
  16. ^ a b Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 67
  17. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 284
  18. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 285
  19. ^ a b c Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 96
  20. ^ a b c Dixon, Robert M. W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 97
  21. ^ Dixon 1988: 52
  22. ^ Cysouw, Michael (2013). "WALS Online – Feature 39A: Inclusive/Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns". The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  23. ^ Dixon 1988: 54–55
  24. ^ a b c d e Dixon 1988: 53
  25. ^ a b c Dixon 1988: 33
  26. ^ Dixon 1988: 119
  27. ^ Schütz 1985: 449
  28. ^ Dixon 1988: 120
  29. ^ Sivertsen, Juliette (January 30, 2017). "18 Fijian Phrases You Need To Know Before You Travel". Culture Trip.

Sources edit

External links edit

  • Fijian language, alphabet and pronunciation at Omniglot
  • Na Soqoni Tabu: Na Veitarataravi Ni Noda Veiqaravi Kei Na Kalou Anglican Holy Communion in Fijian
  • A collection of open access Fijian recordings in Kaipuleohone.
  • Index cards of plant and animal names, labeled 'Fiji [plants]' archived with Kaipuleohone
  • Materials on Fijian are included in the open access Arthur Capell collections (AC1 and AC2) held by Paradisec.
  • Paradisec also holds an open access collection of Fijian music Fijian manuscripts in the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau collection,
  • George Grace's manuscript collection at the University of Hawai'i includes Fijian

fijian, language, confused, with, fujian, fijian, vosa, vaka, viti, austronesian, language, malayo, polynesian, family, spoken, some, ethnic, fijians, native, language, 2013, constitution, established, fijian, official, language, fiji, along, with, english, fi. Not to be confused with Fujian Fijian Na vosa vaka Viti is an Austronesian language of the Malayo Polynesian family spoken by some 350 000 450 000 ethnic Fijians as a native language The 2013 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji along with English and Fiji Hindi and there is discussion about establishing it as the national language Fijian is a VOS language 2 FijianVosa Vaka VitiNative toFijiEthnicityFijiansNative speakers 339 210 cited 1996 census 1 320 000 second language users 1991 Language familyAustronesian Malayo PolynesianOceanicCentral PacificEast Fijian PolynesianEast FijianFijianDialectsPidgin FijianWriting systemLatin basedOfficial statusOfficial language in FijiLanguage codesISO 639 1 span class plainlinks fj span ISO 639 2 span class plainlinks fij span ISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code fij class extiw title iso639 3 fij fij a Glottologfiji1243Linguasphere39 BBA aThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA source source source source source source source A Fijian speaker recorded in Fiji Standard Fijian is based on the Bau dialect which is an East Fijian language A pidginized form is used by many Indo Fijians and Chinese on the islands while Pidgin Hindustani is used by many rural ethnic Fijians and Chinese in areas dominated by Indo Fijians Contents 1 History 1 1 History of the language 1 2 National language debate 2 Phonology 3 Orthography 4 Morpho syntax 4 1 Negation 4 1 1 Semi auxiliary verbs 4 1 1 1 Combining semi auxiliary verbs 4 1 2 Modifiers in negation 4 2 Pronouns and person markers 4 2 1 Forms and function 4 2 2 Use 4 3 Possession 4 3 1 Possessor 4 3 2 Possessed 4 3 3 Possessive constructions 4 3 4 Examples 5 Syntax 6 Sample phrases 6 1 Greetings 7 Sample text 8 Grammatical abbreviations 9 National language debate 10 See also 11 Notes 12 Sources 13 External linksHistory editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message History of the language edit The Fijian language was introduced to Fiji c 3500 years ago by the islands first settlers For millennia it was the only spoken language in Fiji In 1835 Methodist missionaries from Australia worked in Fiji to develop a written form of the language By 1840 they had already developed a writing system and had published various books on the different dialects of the language After the independence of Fiji in 1970 Fijian has been used in radio television books and periodicals and has been taught in schools National language debate edit Parts of this article those related to this section need to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information November 2023 In May and June of 2005 several prominent Fijians sought to promote the status of the Fijian language Fiji had no official language before the 1997 Constitution which made the Fijian language co official with English and Fiji Hindi however it was not required to be taught in schools The minister of education Ro Teimumu Kepa has also supported appeals to Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs Ratu Ovini Bokini Similar appeals have been made by Misiwini Qereqeretabua Director of the Institute of Language and Culture and by Apolonia Tamata a linguistics professor at the University of the South Pacific in Suva They have stated that recognition of the Fijian language is essential for the basic identity of the nation and acts as a unifying factor for the multicultural society of Fiji Mahendra Chaudhry the leader of the Fiji Labour Party also supported the cause to make Fijian a national language and a compulsory subject in schools with the same status as Fiji Hindi a position echoed by Krishna Vilas of the National Reconciliation Committee Phonology editThe consonant phonemes of Fijian are as shown in the following table Fijian consonant phonemes Labial Coronal Palatal Velar GlottalNasal m n ŋPlosive voiceless p t tʃ k ʔ prenasalized ᵐb ⁿd ⁿdʒ ᵑɡFricative voiceless f s x h voiced b dTrill plain rprenasalized ᶯɖʳApproximant w l jThe consonant written dr has been described as a prenasalized trill ⁿr or trilled affricate ndr However it is only rarely pronounced with a trilled release the primary feature distinguishing it from d is that it is postalveolar ɳɖ rather than dental alveolar 3 The sounds p and f occur only in loanwords from other languages The sounds x and h only occur for speakers from certain regions of the country The sounds tʃ and ⁿdʒ occur as allophones of t and ⁿd The glottal stop ʔ occurs in the Boumaa Fijian used to illustrate this article but is not found in the standard language It descends from an earlier k sound in most Fijian dialects Note the difference in place of articulation between the voiced voiceless fricative pairs bilabial b vs labiodental f and dental d vs alveolar s The vowel phonemes are Monophthongs Front Central Backshort long short long short longClose i iː u uːMid e eː o oːOpen a aːFalling diphthongs Second component i u First component e ei eu o oi ou a ai au In addition there is the rising diphthong i u Syllables can consist of a consonant followed by a vowel CV or a single vowel V 4 Word stress is based on moras a short vowel is one mora diphthongs and long vowels are two morae Primary stress is on the penultimate mora of the phonological word That is if the last syllable of a word is short then the penultimate syllable will be stressed while if the last syllable contains either a long vowel or a diphthong then it receives primary stress Stress is not lexical and can shift when suffixes are attached to the root Examples Stress on the penultimate syllable final short vowel siga day Stress on the final syllable diphthong cauravou youth the stress extends over the whole diphthong Stress shift cabe kick cabe ta kick TR 5 Orthography editThe Fijian alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of the following letters A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w y z Among the consonants there is almost a one to one correspondence between letters and phonemes b ᵐb c d d ⁿd di ⁿdʒi f f g ŋ h h x j tʃ ⁿdʒ k k l l m m n n nr ᶯɖ p p q ᵑɡ r r s s t t ti tʃi v b w ɰ y j or silent z ⁿdʒ In the 1980s scholars compiling a dictionary added several more consonants and a few consonant clusters to the alphabet These newcomers were necessary to handle words entering Standard Fijian from not only English but from other Fijian languages or dialects as well These are the most important additions z nj as in ziza ginger and h h as in haya hire 6 For phonological reasons ti and di are pronounced tʃi ⁿdʒi rather than ti ⁿdi cf Japanese chi kana or in standard Brazilian Portuguese Hence the Fijian name for Fiji Viti from an allophonic pronunciation of bitʃi as ɸidʒi In addition the digraph dr stands for retroflex ᶯɖ or a prenasalized trill ɳɖr in careful pronunciation or more commonly for some people and in some dialects The vowel letters a e i o u have roughly their IPA values a ɛ e i ɔ o u The vowel length contrast is not usually indicated in writing except in dictionaries and textbooks for learners of the language where it is indicated by a macron over the vowel in question Dixon in the work cited below doubles all long vowels in his spelling system Diphthongs are ai au ei eu oi ou and iu pronounced ɛi ɔu ei eu oi ou i u Morpho syntax editNote the examples in this section are from Boumaa dialect It is not Standard Fijian which is based on the Bauan dialect Negation edit In order to negate a phrase or clause in Fijian certain verbs are used to create this distinction These verbs of negation are known as semi auxiliary verbs Semi auxiliary verbs fulfil the functions of main verbs in terms of syntactic form and pattern and have a NP or complement clause as their subject 7 complements clauses within negation are introduced by relators ni which refers to an event which is generally a non specific unit or me which refers is translated as should referring to the event within the complement clause should occur 8 Within a complement clause the semi auxiliary verb qualifies the predicate 7 Semi auxiliary verbs edit One semi auxiliary verb used to express negation in Fijian is sega This semi auxiliary can be translated as either there are no or it is not the case that depending on the subject it relates to 9 In terms of numerical expression sega is also used to express the quantity none 10 This negator can be used in almost all situations with the exception of the imperative or in a me classifier clauses 9 When sega takes a NP as its subject the meaning there are no is assumed 1 9 e3SGseganotaARTꞌoliidog i nain ARTꞌorovillageyai thise sega a ꞌolii i na ꞌoro yai 3SG not ART dog in ART village this there are no dogs in this village Predicate clauses can also be negated in Fijian with the semi auxiliary verb sega This can only be completed when the predicate is placed into a complement clause 9 The subject of sega must also be ni which introduces the complement clause It is then translated as it is not the case that predicate clause 9 An example of this construction is shown here 2 9 e3SGseganot nithatlaꞌogooARTJone Johne sega ni laꞌo o Jone 3SG not that go ART John John is not going lit it is not the case that John is going Hence the only way a verb which is generally the head of a predicate phrase can be negated in Fijian is when it forms part of the e sega ni VERB construction 9 However in Fijian the head of a predicate phrase may belong to almost any word class If another word e g a noun is used the structure of negation alters 9 This distinction can be shown through diverse examples of the negating NPs in Fijian The below examples show the difference between a noun as the head of a NP and a noun as the head of a predicate in a complement clause within negation NP as subject of sega 3 9 e3SGseganotaARTꞌoliidoge sega a ꞌolii3SG not ART dog there is no dog Ni as the subject of sega 4 9 e3SGseganotnithatꞌoliidoge sega ni ꞌolii3SG not that dog it isn t a dog it may be a cat Additionally sega can also work with relator se which introduces interrogative clauses 11 This combination creates a form translatable as or not 5 12 au1SGtovele atest TRsewhetherꞌanaeatvinaꞌagoodaARTꞌaa ꞌanafoodyaithis seorsega notau tovele a se ꞌana vinaꞌa a ꞌaa ꞌana yai se sega 1SG test TR whether eat good ART food this or not I ll test whether this food tastes good or not Another common negator is ꞌua or waaꞌua which is translatable as don t not 7 Differently to sega this semi auxiliary verb is used for imperatives and in me clauses Therefore these semi auxiliaries are fixed and cannot be used interchangeably 13 ꞌUa and waaꞌua have the same meaning however waaꞌua may be more intense in most instances either semi auxiliary verb can be used 13 ꞌua waaꞌua can take a NP as its subject but most commonly takes the ni complement as a subject 14 which is demonstrated below 6 14 e3SGaaPASTtaqo maꞌinidefend TRau1SGoARTJonePersonme ushould 1SGꞌuanotnithatlau vacuPASS punche aa taqo maꞌini au o Jone me u ꞌua ni lau vacu3SG PAST defend TR 1SG ART Person should 1SG not that PASS punch John defended me from being punched lit that I should not be punched An example of ꞌua waaꞌua used in imperative structure can be seen here 7 15 au1SGsaaASPvei vutuni taꞌinarepent TRsaraMODIFme ushould 1SGsaaASPwaaꞌuanotniINTvaꞌa yaco ramake happen TRtaleagainaARTcaꞌa caꞌaREDUP doyaiINTi naon ARTsiga tabuSundayau saa vei vutuni taꞌina sara me u saa waaꞌua ni vaꞌa yaco ra tale a caꞌa caꞌa yai i na siga tabu1SG ASP repent TR MODIF should 1SG ASP not INT make happen TR again ART REDUP do INT on ART Sunday I repented of hunting pigs on the sabbath so that I won t ever again do this activity on Sunday In the case of pronouns they can only be negated when they form part of the NP when acting as the predicate head 16 Therefore pronouns cannot be the NP subject of semi auxiliary verbs sega or ꞌua waaꞌua in the way that general nouns can 16 Combining semi auxiliary verbs edit Sega and ꞌua waaꞌua can be combined with other auxiliary verbs to produce diverse constructions 17 Both sega and ꞌua waaꞌua can connect with semi auxiliary rawa can to negate the concept of possibility which is attached to the verb can resulting in constructions such as can t and shouldn t 18 Modifiers in negation edit Two main modifiers soti a lot and sara very go right on immediately play key roles in negation in Fijian and work in conjunction with semi auxiliary verbs Soti is added after negators sega and ꞌua waaꞌua and functions as an intensity marker 19 The construction sega soti is translatable as not a lot of not very The sega soti construction requires an adjective or an adverb which results from an adjective and must take ni complement clause as its subject in order to function 19 Soti can be found in position immediately after sega but may also be found after the ni relator without changing the meaning of the phrase 20 The primary construction is shown below 8 19 au1SGseganotsotiINTniSUBvuꞌuclevermeshouldtautauvatasameꞌeiwithSepoPersonau sega soti ni vuꞌu me tautauvata ꞌei Sepo1SG not INT SUB clever should same with Person I m not as clever as Sepo lit I am not clever to be the same as Sepo Similarly to soti the modifier sara very go right on immediately can also be used in conjunction with sega and ꞌua waaꞌua This combination is used to stress the negative sense and aspect of a phrase 20 9 20 ꞌuadon tniINTlaꞌigotaaooheld uptaleagainiATViidawa ViidawalaꞌogosaraINTitoꞌOrovou ꞌOrovouꞌua ni laꞌi taaoo tale i Viidawa laꞌo sara i ꞌOrovou don t INT go held up again AT Viidawa go INT to ꞌOrovou don t get held up at Viidawa a place en route where there may be some enticing event in progress go straight on to ꞌOrovou Pronouns and person markers edit The pronominal system of Fijian is remarkably rich Like many other languages it recognises three persons first person speaker second person addressee and third person all other There is no distinction between human non human animate or inanimate 21 Four numbers are represented singular dual paucal and plural paucal refers to more than two people who have some relationship as a family or work group if none plural is used Like many other Oceanic languages Fijian pronouns are marked for number and clusivity 22 Boumaa Fijian pronouns 23 Person Numbersingular dual paucal plural1INCL subject e taru tou e taobject ꞌeetaru ꞌetatou ꞌetacardinal ꞌeetaru ꞌetatou ꞌeta1EXCL subject au u ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimamiobject au ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimamicardinal yau ꞌeirau ꞌeitou ꞌeimami2 subject o o mudrau o drau o mudou o dou o munuu o nuuobject iꞌo ꞌemudrau ꞌemudou ꞌemunuucardinal iꞌo ꞌemudrau ꞌemudou ꞌemunuu3 subject e e rau e ratou e raobject ꞌea rau iratou iracardinal ꞌea i rau i ratou i raForms and function edit Each pronoun can have five forms but some person number combinations may have the same form for more than one function 24 as can be seen in the table above The forms are Cardinal used when a pronoun occurs as the head of a NP A cardinal pronoun is usually preceded by the proper article o except when preceded by a preposition 1 24 era3PLsaASPlaꞌogo oARTira 3PLera sa laꞌo o ira 3PL ASP go ART 3PL They are going 2 24 2 24 au1SGaaPASTsoli agive TR aARTniu coconut veiPREPira 3PLau aa soli a a niu vei ira 1SG PAST give TR ART coconut PREP 3PL I gave the coconut to them Subject the first constituent of a predicate acts as person marking Examples can be seen in examples 1 and 2 above era and au and 3 below oObject follows the i final form of a transitive verb 3 24 o2SGaaPASTbiu tileave TRira3PLo aa biu ti ira2SG PAST leave TR 3PL You left them Possessive suffix attaches to inalienable nouns andPossessive precedes the NP head of the possessed constituent in a possessive construction For more information on the form and function of these possessive pronouns see Possession Use edit The major clausal structure in Fijian minimally includes a predicate which usually has a verb at its head 25 The initial element in the predicate is the subject form pronoun 4a 25 au1SGlaꞌogoau laꞌo1SG go I am going 4b era3PLlaꞌogoera laꞌo3PL go They are going This subject marker verb predicate construction is obligatory every other constituent is optional The subject may be expanded upon by an NP following the predicate 5 25 era3PLlaꞌogo aARTgone childera laꞌo a gone 3PL go ART child the children are going or They the children are going The subject pronoun constituent of a predicate acts mainly as a person marker Fijian is a verb object subject language and the subject pronoun may be translated as its equivalent in English the subject NP of a clause in Fijian follows the verb and the object if it is included The social use of pronouns is largely driven by respect and hierarchy Each of the non singular second person pronouns can be used for a singular addressee For example if one s actual or potential in laws are addressed the 2DU pronoun should be used Similarly when a brother or sister of the opposite sex is addressed the 2PA pronoun should be used and it can also be used for same sex siblings when the speaker wishes to show respect The 2PL pronoun can be used to show respect to elders particularly the village chief 24 Possession edit Possession is a grammatical term for a special relationship between two entities a possessor and a possessed The relationship may be one of legal ownership but in Fijian like many other Austronesian languages it is often much broader encompassing kin relations body parts parts of an inanimate whole and personal qualities and concepts such as control association and belonging Fijian has a complex system of possessive constructions depending on the nature of the possessor and of the possessed Choosing the appropriate structure depends on knowing 26 whether the possessor is a personal or place name a pronoun or a common noun with human or non human animate or inanimate reference and also on whether the possessed is a free or bound noun Possessor edit Only an animate noun may be a possessor in the true possessive constructions shown below with possession marked on the possessed NP in a number of ways For personal and place name possessors the possessive construction may be made by affixing the possessive suffix i to the possessed noun bound or free If the possessor is a pronoun the possessed noun must be marked by one of the pronominal markers which specify person number and inclusivity exclusivity see table If the possessor is inanimate the possessive particle ni is usually placed between the possessed NP and the possessor NP The particle ni then indicates association rather than formal possession but the construction is still regarded as a possessive construction Possessed edit Free nouns can stand alone and need no affix most nouns in Fijian fall into this class Bound nouns require a suffix to complete them and are written ending in a hyphen to indicate this requirement Tama father and tina mother are examples of bound nouns The classes of free and bound nouns roughly correspond with the concept common in Austronesian languages of alienable and inalienable possession respectively Alienable possession denotes a relationship in which the thing possessed is not culturally considered an inherent part of the possessor and inalienable possession indicates a relationship in which the possessed is regarded as an intrinsic part of the possessor Body parts and kin relations are typical examples of inalienable possession Inanimate objects are typical examples of alienable possession The alienable nature of free nouns is further marked by prefixes known as classifiers indicating certain other characteristics Some common examples are me when the possessed noun is something drinkable ke or ꞌe when the noun is something edible and we when the referent of the possessed noun is personal property Fijian possessive pronominal suffix markers 27 Single Dual Paucal Plural1st person exclusive qu irau itou imamiinclusive daru datou da2nd person mu mudrau mudou muni3rd person na drau dratou draPossessive constructions edit Source 28 The word order of a possessive construction for all except inanimate possessors is possessed NP classifier CLF possessive marker POSS possessor NP For an inanimate possessor the word order is possessed NP ni possessor NP POSSESSED POSSESSEDPOSSESSOR bound noun free nounpersonal or place name suffix i example 1 classifier plus suffix i or suffix i example 2 pronoun pronominal suffix or suffix i example 3a b classifier plus possessor pronoun example 4a b human noun pronominal suffix expanded by post head possessor NP or suffix i or NP ni NP example 5 classifier plus possessor pronoun expanded by post head possessor NP example 6 animate noun NP ni NP or pronominal suffix expanded by post head possessor NP NP ni NP or classifier plus possessor pronoun expanded by post head possessor NPinanimate noun NP ni NP example 7 8 NP ni NP example 7 8 Note that there is some degree of flexibility in the use of possessive constructions as described in this table Examples edit aARTliga ihand POSSPaulaPaulaa liga i PaulaART hand POSS Paula Paula s hand aARTwaqonakavame iCLF drink POSSPaulaPaulaa waqona me i PaulaART kava CLF drink POSS Paula Paula s kava aARTtama mudraufather PN 2DUa tama mudrauART father PN 2DU The father of you two aARTliga quhand PN 1SGa liga quART hand PN 1SG My hand aARTme naCLF drink POSS PN 3SGtiteaa me na tiART CLF drink POSS PN 3SG tea His her tea aARTꞌe muCLF eat POSS PN 2SGuviyama ꞌe mu uviART CLF eat POSS PN 2SG yam Your SG yam for eating aARTliga nahand PN 3SGa liga naART hand PN 3SGHis her hand aARTwe irauCLF property POSS PN 1DUwaqaboatoARTyauIeiandJoneJohna we irau waqa o yau ei JoneART CLF property POSS PN 1DU boat ART I and JohnJohn s and my boat thing owned naARTyacanameniPOSS PTCPwaqaboatna yaca ni waqaART name POSS PTCP boatThe name of the boat The name associated with the boat avalenikanaa vale ni kanaART house POSS PTCP eatSyntax editThe normal Fijian word order is VOS verb object subject E3SG SUBrai c asee TR 3SG OBJnatheno na3SG POSSmotokacaro Jone John E rai c a na no na motoka o Jone 3SG SUB see TR 3SG OBJ the 3SG POSS car John John sees his car Sample phrases editGreetings edit Below are some examples of Fijian greetings 29 Fijian English IPAAu domoni iko I love you ɔu ⁿdo mo ni i ko bula hello literally life ᵐbu la io yes io kerekere please ke re ke re moce goodbye mo de ni sa bula vinaka hello formal welcome ni sa ᵐbu la sega no se ŋa sega na leqa no worries se ŋa na le ᵑɡa sota tale see you later so ta ta le Vacava tiko How are you ba da ba ti ko vinaka thank you bi na ka yadra good morning ja ɳɖʳa Sample text editEra sucu ena galala na tamata yadua era tautauvata ena nodra dokai kei na nodra dodonu E tiko na nodra vakasama kei na nodra lewaeloma sa dodonu mera veidokadokai ena yalo ni veitacini All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1Grammatical abbreviations editAbbreviations and Constructions 1 first person2 second person3 third personART articleASP aspectCLF numeral classifierMODIF modifierNP noun phrasePTCP participlePASS passive voicePAST past tensePL pluralPOSS possessivePREP prepositionPN pronounREDUP reduplicationSG singularTR transitiveMODIF modifierNational language debate editMain article National language debate in Fiji In May and June 2005 a number of prominent Fiji Islanders called for the status of Fijian to be upgraded It was not an official language before the adoption of the 1997 Constitution which made it co official with English and Fiji Hindi It is still not a compulsory subject in schools when but then Education Minister Ro Teimumu Kepa had endorsed calls for that to change as had the former Great Council of Chiefs Chairman Ratu Ovini Bokini Similar calls also came from Misiwini Qereqeretabua the former Director of the Institute of Fijian Language and Culture and from Apolonia Tamata a linguistics lecturer at Suva s University of the South Pacific both of whom said that recognition of the Fijian language is essential to the nation s basic identity and as a unifying factor in Fiji s multicultural society The Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry also endorsed the call for Fijian to be made a national language and a compulsory school subject if the same status was given to Fiji Hindi a position that was echoed by Krishna Vilas of the National Reconciliation Committee See also editEast Fijian languages Languages of Fiji West Fijian languagesNotes edit Fijian at Ethnologue 18th ed 2015 subscription required 1 WALS Fijian Ladefoged Peter Maddieson Ian 1996 The Sounds of the World s Languages Oxford Blackwell ISBN 0 631 19815 6 p 122 131 The authors use the transcription nḍ where the sub dot is their convention for a postalveolar stop that is not prototypically retroflex Dixon 1988 15 Dixon 1988 17 Schutz Albert J 1936 2003 Say it in Fijian an entertaining introduction to the standard language of Fiji Textbook Wholesalers Ltd ISBN 1862730385 OCLC 156199054 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link a b c Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 279 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 268 271 a b c d e f g h i j Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 40 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 141 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 270 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 271 a b Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 281 a b Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 282 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 294 a b Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 67 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 284 Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 285 a b c Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 96 a b c Dixon Robert M W 1988 A grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press p 97 Dixon 1988 52 Cysouw Michael 2013 WALS Online Feature 39A Inclusive Exclusive Distinction in Independent Pronouns The World Atlas of Language Structures Online Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Retrieved May 4 2015 Dixon 1988 54 55 a b c d e Dixon 1988 53 a b c Dixon 1988 33 Dixon 1988 119 Schutz 1985 449 Dixon 1988 120 Sivertsen Juliette January 30 2017 18 Fijian Phrases You Need To Know Before You Travel Culture Trip Sources editDixon R M W 1988 A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian Chicago University of Chicago Press ISBN 0 226 15428 9 Dryer Matthew S amp Haspelmath Martin eds 2013 The World Atlas of Language Structures Online Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Available online at http wals info Accessed on 2015 05 04 Schutz Albert J 1985 The Fijian Language Honolulu University of Hawaii Press ISBN 0 8248 1005 8 External links edit nbsp Fijian edition of Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Fijian language alphabet and pronunciation at Omniglot Fijian English English Fijian Dictionary Na Soqoni Tabu Na Veitarataravi Ni Noda Veiqaravi Kei Na Kalou Anglican Holy Communion in Fijian A collection of open access Fijian recordings in Kaipuleohone Index cards of plant and animal names labeled Fiji plants archived with Kaipuleohone Materials on Fijian are included in the open access Arthur Capell collections AC1 and AC2 held by Paradisec Paradisec also holds an open access collection of Fijian music Fijian manuscripts in the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau collection George Grace s manuscript collection at the University of Hawai i includes Fijian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fijian language amp oldid 1192232380, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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