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 B u l a - This is the common Fijian Greeting used when meeting friends or welcoming guests. It goes beyond the simple hello, though, to incorporate spirit & literally means “life”. So Bula! & Welcome to the Fijian language section. Fiji has three official languages that are recognized by their constitution; English, Bau Fijian & Hindustani. English is the main medium of communication. It is the language the government uses & is the main language of education, commerce & the courts. Fijians do, however, have a constitutional right to communicate with the government in any one of the three official languages.
Fijian Belongs to the Austronesian family of languages, there are many dialects, but the official standard is the speech of bau, the Austronesian languages are a family of languages that are found throughout the islands of Southeast Asia & the Pacific & contiental Asia, it is one of the largest language families in the world. The word Austronesian comes from the greek word Austronesia meaning southern islands. The Fijian alphate is made up of all the English letters except 'x', The letters 'h' and 'z' are rarely used & are found only in borrowed words. Fiji Hindi The language of the Fijian Indians is generally called Hindi or Hindustani, but it is quite different from the Hindi spoken in India. Fijian Indians call their language Fiji Bat (literally, ‘Fiji Talk’) or simply Fiji Hindi. This lingua franca of Fijian Indians is a hybrid of many Indian languages, dialects and borrowed words from Fijian and English. As Jeff Siegel, author of Say It In Fiji Hindi aptly puts it, ‘Fiji Hindi reflects the diverse origins of the Fiji Indians as well as their unique new culture which has developed in Fiji’. Linguists and scholars may argue about the legitimacy of this dialect, but there is no doubt that it is a living language with its own special grammar and vocabulary suited for Fiji.
The bottom line is that Fiji Hindi & Urdu are very different in their formal & written forms but are almost the same spoken language. Know some local Fijian Words & Phrases ------------- ►(Fijian Phrases.pdf) |
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