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ldtc@hawaii.edu
1890 East-West Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822 USA |
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About Me and My Language
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A Fijian by origin, I was raised up in my home country learning and speaking English, and strictly only English. Today, our language is still widely spoken but in fewer areas and in smaller populations than ever before. My concern and stronghold on my culture has sparked my interest in my native language and not till I began college did I realize the depth of my shortcomings in my cultural knowledge. In my opinion, language plays a vital role in the transfer of cultural knowledge from generation to generation. Therefore, in my attempt to document my language and to help my people and the growing population in Fiji, I hope to provide an aid as a maintenance mechanism to ensure the long life of the Fijian language. |
| Your name (first, last) |
David, Dugucanavanua |
| Contact Email | dugu [at] hawaii [dot] com |
| Preferred name(s) of your language | Fijian |
| Alternative names | Vosa Vaka Viti |
| Language classification | Austronesian |
| Geographical areas where spoken | Fiji |
| Approximate number of monolingual speakers | 336,960 |
| Other languages spoken in the area/country | English, Hindi |
| Official language(s) in your country | English, Fijian, Hindi |
| Does your language have a
widely accepted writing system? |
Yes |
| If yes, what materials are
written? |
Dictionary, Textbooks, Bibles,
Newspaper |
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