A translation agency has contacted me asking for help finding someone who can translate from English to Fijian.
If you can do this, or know someone who can, please contact Stephen at stealthtranslations@googlemail.com as soon as possible.
Thank you / Vinaka
Being one of the biggest indigenous languages of the Pacific I’d be interested to know how much status and use Fijian has –
1. is it a medium of instruction in schools
2. is it a medium of instructionat university
3. is there a Fijian language radio and television station
4. are there daily papers or magazines in the language
5. does the Indian community speak Fijian
6. what’s the language of interaction between Fijians and Indians
7. is there a problem of language transfer between generations with Fijian
… as you may have guessed, I’m Welsh-speaking and these are very Cambrocentric questions!
1. Fijian is used as a medium of instruction during the first three years of school. After that English is the offical medium of instruction, but the choice of language is left largely up to the teachers, who use English, Fijian or Hindi depending on the circumstances. Fijian and Hindi are also taught as subjects in schools.
2. English is the medium of instruction in higher education.
3. There are a number of Fijian language radio stations and one community TV station that broadcasts in English, Fijian and Hindi.
4. There are no daily papers or magazines in Fijian, but there are some articles in Fijian in the English language newspapers.
5. Most Indians in Fiji understand Fijian, and those in rural communities speak it as well.
6. The main language of interaction between Fijians and Indians is English.
7. There do not appear to be problems with the intergenerational transmission of Fijian.
This site has more information: http://www.fijiguide.com/language.html
I’m in shock! Thanks – nice to have such a quick and full answer. Will go straight to the link.
Diolch frawd.