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Fijian

Austronesian Languages

Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken natively by an estimated 350,000 to 450,000 ethnic Fijians. Under Fiji's 2013 constitution it is one of the country's three national languages alongside English and Hindi, and it follows a verb-object-subject word order.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
fij 1
Speaker Count
339,210 1
1996 census figure for native speakers, cited in the Wikipedia infobox; a broader estimate of 350,000 to 450,000 ethnic Fijian native speakers appears in the lead paragraph.
Status
Living 1
Attested From (Year)
from 1835 1
Year Methodist missionaries from Australia developed a written form of Fijian, per the Wikipedia History section; earlier isolated European word lists exist but this is the first standardized written form recorded there.
Region
Fiji 1
Classification
Official Status
National Language (Symbolic, Not Sole Official) 1
Connections

Written In

Latin Script, Scripts

Fijian is standardly written in the Latin alphabet.

Sources
1. Fijian language, Wikipedia
  • Lead paragraph, second sentence
    In the 2013 constitution, Fijian (referred to as iTaukei) is a national language of Fiji, along with English and Hindi.
  • Infobox, ISO 639-3 field
    fij
  • Infobox, Native speakers field
    339,210 cited 1996 census
  • Lead paragraph, first sentence
    is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family
  • History section
    In 1835, Methodist missionaries from Australia worked in Fiji to develop a written form of the language.
  • Official status, Fijian entity page
    Under Fiji's 2013 constitution it is one of the country's three national languages alongside English and Hindi, and it follows a verb-object-subject word order.
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