Fiji Language

Fiji is made up of both Fijian & Indians (Indo-Fijians). English is the most common Fiji Language spoken in the country by the majority of the population. Some of the older generation however only speak their local language as this is all they have ever known.

The combination of the two ethnic races brings an interesting dimension to the country. While walking in the townships you experience an array of both the races. You hear the fast paced sound of the Indians speaking and the Hindi music blasting from the stores as you wonder past, then you will also hear the musical tone of the Fijians talking to each other as they pass by you.

The Fijian language was originally only spoken but in the 1830’s a competent linguist missionary devised the Fijian alphabet. The alphabet is very similar to the English alphabet with the exemption of the letter ‘x’ and the letters ‘h’ & ‘z’ are rarely used. However the pronunciation is different from the English language.

English is the main language taught in the schools, used by the government and in the courts. The people are extremely clever with the majority of the population being bi-lingual speaking both English and their local language and a number of the people can also understand a third language.

The Indo-Fijian people speak Fiji Hindi which is derived from the Awadhi and Bhojpuri dialects of Hindi but the language also contains words from other Indian languages. There are also a number of words that are used in Fiji Hindi which are borrowed from both the Fijian and English languages. Some of the words are unique to this language and have been created and adapted to suit this new environment the people live in.

The Indian people first arrived into Fiji, brought in as labourers for the country. They all spoke different dialects of the Hindi language and the need for a common Fiji dialect was important so they could all communicate amongst themselves and is how Fiji Hindi grew and evolved.

When travelling to the country you will become aware that there are many different aspects of the Fiji language and because there are two major races you will notice that the two languages are very separate just as the two cultures are very distinctive.

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