Fiji (language)

Fiji (Fiji) ; Na Vosa Vakaviti
Spoken in	Fiji
speaker	340,000 (mother tongue) 320,000 (second language)
Linguistic ; classification	Austronesian languages Malayo-Polynesian languages East Malayo Polynesian languages Oceanic languages Central Pacific languages East Fiji Polynesian languages Fiji ;
Official status
Official language in	Fiji
Language codes
ISO 639 -1	fj
ISO 639 -2	fij
ISO 639-3	fij

The Lord's Prayer in Fijian in the Paternoster Church of Jerusalem

Fiji (also written Fiji , self-designation Na Vosa Vakaviti , also iTaukei according to the 2013 constitution ) belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian language family , a subgroup of the Austronesian languages that are spread across the entire Pacific region. Within this language group, Fiji is more closely related to the Polynesian languages and some languages spoken in the Solomon Islands .

340,000 people speak Fiji as their first language, a little less than half of Fiji's population , but it is used as a second language by around 320,000. The 1997 constitution established Fiji as the official language of Fiji, along with English and Hindustani ( Fiji-Hindi ). There are discussions about introducing Fijian as the "national language", although English and Hindustani should remain the official languages.

A distinction must be made between East Fiji, including the standard language of West Fiji based on the dialect of Bau , which is followed by the Rotuman language .

Spelling and pronunciation

The Latin alphabet consists of the following letters:

ABCDEFG (H) IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWY
abcdefg (h) ijklmnopqrstuvwy

a = [a]
b = [ᵐb]
c = [ð]
d = [ⁿd] ( di = [ⁿdʒi] ); ( dr = [ⁿᵈ̠r̠] )
e = [ɛ] ~ [e]
f = [f]
g = [ŋ]
( h = [h] ~ [x] )
i = [i]
j = [tʃ] ~ [ndʒ]
k = [k]
l = [l]

m = [m]
n = [n]
o = [ɔ] ~ [o]
p = [p]
q = [ᵑɡ]
r = [r]
s = [s]
t = [t] ( ti = [tʃi] )
u = [u]
v = [β]
w = [ɰ]
y = [j] or mute

That means z. B., the island of Beqa , which belongs to the state of Fiji , is correctly pronounced “Mbengga” ( ˈmbeŋga ).

Different quantities of vowels are not identified in the script, but can have different meanings; Example:

mama [ˈmama] ring

mama [maˈmaː] chew

mama [maːˈmaː] easy

Language examples

Play media file

Fiji as a spoken language (Wikitongues project)

First words

(ni sa) Bula = hello

Io = yes

lailai = small

levu = big, thick, a lot

(ni sa) moce = good night

Seqa = no

Vale = house

Vale lailai = toilet

Vinaka = Thank you

Vinaka vaka levu = thank you very much

Sa tiko na = there is

Au ... mada = I want to

Kerekere = Please

numbers

one = dua

two = rua

three = tolu

four = va

five = lima

six = ono

seven = vitu

eight = walu

nine = ciwa

ten = tini

grammar

Word order in the sentence

The word order of Fiji is relatively free, but is mostly classified as mainly verb-object-subject ; this order can be modified by optionally placing the subject and / or object in front .

Example: (Abbreviations: 1st subj. = 1st person singular of the subject ( congruence form of the verb); PRÄT = past tense , DET = article )

ouch	a	kabata	n / A	vuniniu	O	yau
1st so-called subj.	PRÄT	climb	DET	Coconut palm	DET	I.

'I climbed the coconut tree.'

Adjectives

Adjectives that represent a need are formed with via + activity:

viakana want to eat = hungry

viagunu want to drink = thirsty

viamoce want to sleep = tired

To be and to Have

In Fijian there is no verb for to be and to have .

Example:

Au yabaki tolusagavulu

I am thirty

Here and there

There are three variants in Fijian for here & there:

ke: here, near the speaker

keri: there, close by

kea: in the distance

The word now / sa

If it is about a momentary state that can change, the word sa is used , in German now .

Example:

Au sa viakana

I want to eat now

I'm hungry

Web links

Wikipedia on Fiji

Fijian at www.ethnologue.com (English)
Fijian language, alphabet and pronunciation on www.omniglot.com (English)
Fijian-English / English-Fijian Dictionary dictionary on www.geocities.ws (English)
Welcome to Fijian Language ( Memento from October 26, 2009 on WebCite ) Grammar on www.geocities.com (English; in the WebCite archive)

literature

Ingrid Gradinger: Fijian. Word for word (= gibberish . Volume 166 ). 1st edition. Reise Know-How Verlag Rump, Bielefeld 2003, ISBN 3-89416-344-5 .
David Hazlewood: A Fijian and English and an English and Fijian dictionary (2nd ed. 1872)
Albert J. Schütz, Rusiate T. Komaitai: Lessons in Fijian (May 1968)
George L. Campbell: Compendium of the world's languages , Vol. 1 (2nd ed. 2000), p. 562 ff.

Individual evidence

↑ Constitution of the Republic of Fiji = Yavunivakavulewa ni Matanitu Tugalala o Viti = रिपब्लिक ऑफ फीजी का संविधान (2013)
↑ Hans Schmidt: Rotuma: Language and History (Diss. Hamburg 1999)
↑ ^a ^b for example in the dialect from Waitabu to Taveuni , see RMW Dixon : A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian (1988), pp. 12 , 14
↑ See the entry on wals.info
↑ Eric Potsdam: Austronesian verb-initial languages and wh-question strategies. In: Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 27 (2009), pp. 737-771. doi: 10.1007 / s11049-009-9078-0 (About Fiji especially Section 5, on word order (svariation) pp. 755–757.)
↑ Potsdam 2009, p. 755, No. (29c)

[1] Constitution of the Republic of Fiji = Yavunivakavulewa ni Matanitu Tugalala o Viti = रिपब्लिक ऑफ फीजी का संविधान (2013)

[2] Hans Schmidt: Rotuma: Language and History (Diss. Hamburg 1999)

[Dixon-3] r example in the dialect from Waitabu to Taveuni , see RMW Dixon : A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian (1988), pp. 12 , 14

[4] See the entry on wals.info

[5] Eric Potsdam: Austronesian verb-initial languages and wh-question strategies. In: Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 27 (2009), pp. 737-771. doi: 10.1007 / s11049-009-9078-0 (About Fiji especially Section 5, on word order (svariation) pp. 755–757.)

[6] Potsdam 2009, p. 755, No. (29c)