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32-495: 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. The Fijian language was introduced to Fiji c. 3500 years ago by the islands' first settlers. For millennia, it was

64-465: 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. 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

96-603: 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⟩ [ ⁿdʒ ] , as in ⟨ziza⟩ ' ginger ' and ⟨h⟩ [ h ] , as in ⟨haya⟩ ' hire ' . For phonological reasons ⟨ti⟩ and ⟨di⟩ are pronounced [tʃi] , [ⁿdʒi] rather than [ti] , [ⁿdi] (cf. Japanese chi kana , or in standard Brazilian Portuguese ). Hence,

128-528: 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. Since 2013, when a new constitution was adopted, Fijian is established as an official language of Fiji alongside Fiji Hindi and English. The consonant phonemes of Fijian are as shown in the following table: The consonant written ⟨dr⟩ has been described as

160-554: Is a consonant sound used in some spoken languages . It is familiar to English-speakers as the th sound in father . Its symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is eth , or ⟨ð⟩ and was taken from the Old English and Icelandic letter eth, which could stand for either a voiced or unvoiced (inter)dental non-sibilant fricative. Such fricatives are often called " interdental " because they are often produced with

192-531: Is a small island in Fiji , off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu . Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji's dominant power; until its cession to Britain , it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji. Due to its sacred nature, foreigners have to apply for a permit to visit. Bau is the capital of the Kubuna Confederacy (Kubuna Tribe) and

224-586: 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 iu⟩ , pronounced [ɛi̯ ɔu̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ i̯u] . 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

256-402: Is the rising diphthong / i̯u / . Syllables can consist of a consonant followed by a vowel (CV) or a single vowel (V). 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

288-549: The Great Council of Chiefs took place there on May 24, 2023. National champion Ratu Banuve Tabakaucoro received the honour in welcoming the state president and prime minister with the ceremonial offering of kava . [REDACTED] Media related to Bau Island at Wikimedia Commons 17°58′21.22″S 178°36′55.35″E  /  17.9725611°S 178.6153750°E  / -17.9725611; 178.6153750 Voiced dental fricative The voiced dental fricative

320-560: The Roko Tui Bau Vuaniivi Clan, Yavusa-Ratu, became the sixth Roko Tui Bau Vuani-Ivi which was the highest chiefly title in the greater area of Kubuna and the second Roko Tui Bau Vuani-Ivi that occupied the Island Delainakorolevu or Ulunivuaka, which was then called Bau in 1760 which was named by the fifth Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi Ratu Lele who was then buried at Delai Daku. The relationship between these two men

352-542: The 1850s Bau dominated western Fiji. Cakobau's main rival was the Tongan chief Enele Ma'afu , who led an army of Christian Tongans and their allies from eastern Fiji. After a short-lived alliance with Ma’afu, Cakobau became a Christian in 1854. The Bauan people quickly established themselves as an undefeatable military force. With that unmatched power, Seru Epenisa Cakobau was able to unite all of Fiji's disparate tribes under his authority in 1871. The reconstitution ceremony of

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384-438: 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 [r] 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

416-682: 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

448-724: The Vuaniivi, a Tokatoka Valelevu of the Mataqali and the Yavusa Ratu Vuani-ivi Buca clan, which had settled at Namuka. Naulivou was installed in 1791 as the Vunivalu (in modern Fiji this is now the highest chiefly title in the Kingdom of Kubuna, but was not so in Fiji's early history) after the death of his father Banuve who had three sons: Naulivou, Tanoa II and Celua in 1791. Ratu Raiwalui of

480-614: The chiefly centre of Tailevu Province . It is divided into three villages: Bau , Lasakau and Soso. Significant chiefly titles from Bau include the Vunivalu , who is considered to be Fiji's premier chiefly title, and the Roko Tui Bau . The 13th Vunivalu is Ratu Epenisa Cakobau since 2023, and the Roko Tui Bau is currently held by Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi , the former Vice-President of Fiji . The village of Lasakau who are inhabited by

512-568: The clan Nabou, referred to as Na Bai kei Bau , is ruled by the Komai Nadrukuta . The village of Soso is occupied by the clan Rara, often referred to as the Rara o Soso and is headed by the Tunidau . The Fijian language has many dialects, but the official standard is based on the speech of Bau. It was at Kubuna that the great ancestral chief , Ratu Vueti Koroi-Ratu mai Bulu, Serui-Ratu mai Bulu,

544-630: 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: In addition, there

576-439: The exception of the imperative or in a me (classifier) clauses. When sega takes a NP as its subject, the meaning "there are no-" is assumed: e 3SG sega not a ART kolii dog (i+na in+ ART koro village yai) this e sega a kolii (i+na koro 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

608-452: The first Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi (according to the legend he was the fourth generation from Ratu Lutunasobasoba) established the Kingdom of Kubuna and formed one of the earliest known Fijian settlements after hostilities ceased the people of Nakauvadra and the victorious Bauan army upon leaving the mountains and finding their way to the sea made a Cairn named Ulunivuaka and later called it Bau in honour of Ratu Vueti and his achievements. It

640-407: The functions of main verbs (in terms of syntactic form and pattern) and have a NP or complement clause as their subject (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)). Within a complement clause,

672-478: 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: The Fijian alphabet is based on the Latin script and consists of the following letters. There is almost a one-to-one correspondence between letters and phonemes. In the 1980s, scholars compiling a dictionary added several more consonants and

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704-605: The lowering diacritic: ⟨ ð̞ ⟩. Very rarely used variant transcriptions of the dental approximant include ⟨ ʋ̠ ⟩ (retracted [ ʋ ] ), ⟨ ɹ̟ ⟩ (advanced [ ɹ ] ) and ⟨ ɹ̪ ⟩ (dentalised [ ɹ ] ). It has been proposed that either a turned ⟨ ð ⟩ or reversed ⟨ ð ⟩ be used as a dedicated symbol for the dental approximant, but despite occasional usage, this has not gained general acceptance. The fricative and its unvoiced counterpart are rare phonemes . Almost all languages of Europe and Asia, such as German , lack

736-512: The mountains lest the Bauans should pursue them. The Vuaniivi warriors left some of their war canoes high and dry on the beach at Vuna when they set off for Vanuabalavu. With the aid of Charlie Savage , who brought firearms to Bau, opportunities for new wealth and power, symbolized by the acquisition of muskets, intensified political rivalries and hastened the rise of the Kingdom of Bau, ruled by Naulivou as Vunivalu and then by his nephew Cakobau. By

768-474: 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. In May and June 2005, several prominent Fijians sought to promote

800-468: The semi-auxiliary verb sega . This can only be completed when the predicate is placed into a complement clause. 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)". An example of this construction is shown here: e 3SG sega not [ni that lako go o ART Bau (island)#Language Bau (pronounced [ᵐbɔu̯] )

832-402: The semi-auxiliary verb qualifies the predicate. 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. In terms of numerical expression, sega is also used to express the quantity "none". This negator can be used in almost all situations, with

864-660: The sound (and/or its unvoiced variant) is present. Most of Mainland Europe lacks the sound. However, some "periphery" languages such as Greek have the sound in their consonant inventories, as phonemes or allophones . Within Turkic languages , Bashkir and Turkmen have both voiced and voiceless dental non-sibilant fricatives among their consonants. Among Semitic languages , they are used in Modern Standard Arabic , albeit not by all speakers of modern Arabic dialects , and in some dialects of Hebrew and Assyrian . Features of

896-402: The sound. Native speakers of languages without the sound often have difficulty enunciating or distinguishing it, and they replace it with a voiced alveolar sibilant [z] , a voiced dental stop or voiced alveolar stop [d] , or a voiced labiodental fricative [v] ; known respectively as th-alveolarization , th-stopping , and th-fronting . As for Europe, there seems to be a great arc where

928-491: 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

960-481: The tongue between the upper and lower teeth (as in Received Pronunciation ), and not just against the back of the upper teeth, as they are with other dental consonants . The letter ⟨ ð ⟩ is sometimes used to represent the dental approximant , a similar sound, which no language is known to contrast with a dental non-sibilant fricative. However, the approximant can be explicitly indicated with

992-518: Was named after a shrine in the Nakauvadra range. He took the titles of Roko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi and Koroi Ratu Maibulu . After his death, he was buried in Kubuna. After his death, a division arose between Bucaira and Vunibuca over the installation of a successor to Ratu Vueti . Other clans went to Namuka and wandered from place to place. Eventually, a new Roko Tui Bau , Ratu Serumataidrau, was selected from

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1024-476: Was not a happy one. When they came into conflict, the Vuaniivi clan fled to Kubuna and sought the protection of Titokobitu, the Chief of Namara. Together with some other chiefs of Namara, they reached Koro and from there went to Vuna, on the island of Taveuni , and thence to Vanuabalavu. The Namara people who later joined their early travellers now of Levukana village on Lomaloma were left behind at Vuna and they fled to

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