Fijian

Fi·ji·an

F0116500 (fē′jē-ən, fĭ-jē′-)n.1. a. A native or inhabitant of Fiji.b. A person of Fijian ancestry.2. The Austronesian language of Fiji.adj. Of or relating to Fiji or its people, language, or culture.

Fijian

(fiːˈdʒiːən) n1. (Peoples) a member of the indigenous people of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian descent inhabiting Fiji2. (Languages) the language of this people, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian familyadj3. (Placename) of, relating to, or characteristic of Fiji or its inhabitants4. (Peoples) of, relating to, or characteristic of Fiji or its inhabitants Also: Fiji

Fi•ji•an

(ˈfi dʒi ən, fɪˈdʒi ən)

n. 1. a. a member of the Melanesian people of Fiji. b. the Austronesian language or group of languages spoken by this people. 2. any native or inhabitant of Fiji. adj. 3. of or pertaining to Fiji, its inhabitants, or their language.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Fijian - a native or inhabitant of Fiji Fiji, Republic of Fiji - an independent state within the British Commonwealth located on the Fiji IslandsPolynesian - a native or inhabitant of Polynesia
	2.	Fijian - the Oceanic language spoken on FijiEastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic - an eastern subfamily of Malayo-Polynesian languages
Adj.	1.	Fijian - of or relating to Fiji or its people or language or culture; "the Fijian population"; "Fijian folktales"

Translations

FidschiFidschianerFidschianerinfidschianischfiyiano

Fijian

1. a member of the indigenous people of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian descent inhabiting Fiji 2. the language of this people, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

Fijian

the language of the Fijians, the indigenous population of the Fiji Islands, spoken by approximately 225,000 people (1974, estimate). Fijian is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language and belongs to the same branch as the Polynesian languages, Rotuman, Efatese, Kerebuto, and a number of other languages; the American scholar I. Dyen refers to these languages as the Geonesian branch.

The consonant system of Fijian shows an opposition between voiceless and prenasalized voiced obstruents. Vowels, which always end a syllable, are distinguished as long or short. The grammatical structure is primarily analytic—only verb forms, such as the causative and passive, and possessive forms of nouns are formed synthetically. Personal pronouns are classified as singular, dual, trial, or plural in number and as inclusive or exclusive in the first person, except in the singular. Written Fijian uses the Latin alphabet.

REFERENCES

Capell, A. A New Fijian Dictionary. Sydney, 1941.
Churchward, C. M. A New Fijian Grammar. [Sydney] 1941.
Grace, G. W. The Position of the Polynesian Languages Within the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) Language Family. Baltimore, 1959.
Dyen, I. A Lexicostatistical Classification of the Austronesian Languages. Baltimore, 1965.

Fijian

Fi·ji·an

Fijian

Fi•ji•an

Fijian

Fijian

Fijian

REFERENCES

Fijian

Words related to Fijian

noun a native or inhabitant of Fiji

Related Words

noun the Oceanic language spoken on Fiji

Related Words