Fijian

Fijian (Vakaviti)

Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken
in Fiji (Viti) by about 320,000 people. There are also several thousand
Fijian speakers in New Zealand.

David Cargill (1809-1843), a scottish missionary and pioneer in the study
of the Fijian Language, devised a way of writing Fijian with the Latin alphabet
based on the Ba’u (Bauan) dialect. He came up with several spelling systems,
noted the reactions of the Fijians to them and abandoned the ones that didn’t
work. At first he represented sounds like /mb/ and /nd/
with two letters: mb and nd, but the Fijians read these as two separate sounds.
Eventually he hit upon a spelling system that made sense to the Fijians and which
has been in use ever since.

Fijian alphabet and pronunciation

Fijian alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

F, H, P, X and Z are only used in foreign loan words. A macron lengthens
a vowel, but is only used occasionally.

Sample text in Fijian

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.

A recording of this text by Tamati Taylor

Translation

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.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Useful phrases in Fijian

Links

Further details of the Fijian language
http://www.fijiguide.com/Facts/language.html
http://fijidictionary.tripod.com

Online Fijian radio
http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/language.php?language=Fijian

Information about David Cargill
http://pages.britishlibrary.net/marlodge/Cargill/

Country profile: Fiji
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1300477.stm

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