Fiji (language)
Fiji (Fiji) Na Vosa Vakaviti |
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Spoken in |
Fiji | |
speaker | 340,000 (mother tongue)
320,000 (second language) |
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Linguistic classification |
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Official status | ||
Official language in | Fiji | |
Language codes | ||
ISO 639 -1 |
fj |
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ISO 639 -2 |
fij |
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ISO 639-3 |
fij |
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
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:
Language examples
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
- 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)