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An English Speaking Country

Fiji was a British colony from 1874 to 1970. It is now an independent country made up of over 300 islands in the South Pacific. English and Fijian are the two official languages, though English is widely used in business and government. Fijian English has developed as its own distinct dialect over the past 150+ years of British rule, incorporating words from Fijian and other languages. It is used informally while more formal English resembles variants used in other former British colonies.

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140 views

An English Speaking Country

Fiji was a British colony from 1874 to 1970. It is now an independent country made up of over 300 islands in the South Pacific. English and Fijian are the two official languages, though English is widely used in business and government. Fijian English has developed as its own distinct dialect over the past 150+ years of British rule, incorporating words from Fijian and other languages. It is used informally while more formal English resembles variants used in other former British colonies.

Uploaded by

Rares Pintea
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FIJI

-an English speaking country-


Colony of Fiji #1

The Colony of Fiji was a British crown


colony that existed from 1874 to 1970
in the territory of the present-day
nation of Fiji. The United
Kingdom declined its first opportunity
to annex the Kingdom of Fiji in
1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had
offered to cede the islands, subject to
being allowed to retain his Tui
Vit (King of Fiji) title, a condition
unacceptable to both the British and
to many of his fellow chiefs, who
regarded him only as first among
equals, if that.
Colony of Fiji #2

Mounting debts and threats from


the United States Navy had led
Cakobau to establish a constitutional
monarchy with a government
dominated by European settlers in
1871, following an agreement with
the Australian Polynesia Company to
pay his debts. The collapse of the new
regime drove him to make another
offer of cession in 1872, which the
British accepted. On 10 October
1874, Britain began its rule of Fiji,
which lasted until 10 October 1970.
Fiji nowadays

Fiji is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean. Fiji is


an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently
inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of
about 18,300 square kilometres.The farthest island is Ono-i-Lau. The two
major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the
population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as
Fiji's principal cruise port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti
Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres
like Nadi or Lautoka.
Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an
abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the main sources
of foreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports. The
country's currency is the Fijian dollar. Fiji's local government, in the form
of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local
Government and Urban Development.
Languages of Fiji

Fiji has two official languages under the 1997


constitution: English and Fijian. Fijian is spoken either as a
first or second language by indigenous Fijians who make up
around 54% of the population. English, a remnant of British
colonial rule over the islands, was the sole official language
until 1997 and is widely used in government, business, and
education as a lingua franca; considerable business is also
done in Fijian, especially away from larger town centre.
A small number of other indigenous
East Fijian and West Fijian regional
languages are spoken on the islands,
standard Fijian belonging to
the East Fijian group.
English in Fiji #1

English usage in Fiji predates the


cession of Fiji to Great Britain by a
few decades. English was first
encountered from the first explorers
and traders and found greater
popularity as a lingua franca (albeit
mixed with English in an early and
now extinct Pidgin Fijian) between
frontier settlers and the indigenous
peoples. By the time of the British
administration, much of the Fijian
nobility were able to comprehend
basic English. The English spoken in
Fiji today is very different and has
developed significantly over the close
to 150 years of usage in the islands.
English in Fiji #2

Like many former colonies of Great Britain, there are certain 'situational varieties'
of English present. There is the very formal, 'Proper' English (which would
resemble formal English in Australia or the United Kingdom) as it is known, which
is to be used in government and any other situation deemed formal enough for its
use, but it has fallen out of favor due to the popularity of the more laid back
varieties and is still spoken only by the older generation that lived through the
colonial days. A sort of mid-
level English is used in school, church, work and in
semi-formal situations and is
basically English with localized grammatical
innovations and words imported
from Hindi and Fijian;it is quickly
becoming formal English in
Fiji.
English in Fiji #3

Last is the very informal Fiji English, or Finglish, which is used among all races with
family, friends and often nowadays, in general conversations and in any other
situation not deemed formal. Fiji English has been tentatively studied by linguists
and has been suggested as a separate dialect from Standard English (as has
developed in Australia and New Zealand) but the distinction is not made locally or
in the constitution. Moreover, other linguists suggest it is part of a greater South
Pacific English dialect because of the shared development of English within
former British colonies and protectorates in the South Pacific.

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