East Fijian languages
Encyclopedia
The East Fijian languages are a subgroup of the Central Pacific (Fijian–Polynesian)
languages. They are four: Fijian
, Gone Dau
, Lauan
and Lomaiviti
all spoken within Fiji
.
The West Fijian languages are more closely related to Rotuman
and to the Polynesian
than they are to East Fijian.
Central Pacific languages
The family of Central Pacific languages, also known as Fijian–Polynesian, are a branch of the Oceanic languages.-Classification:Analysis of the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database gave full support to the unity of Central Pacific, of a primary split with Bau , a secondary split with Rotuman +...
languages. They are four: Fijian
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
, Gone Dau
Gone Dau language
Gone Dau is an East Fijian language spoken by about 700 people on the islands of Gone and Dau, Fiji....
, Lauan
Lauan language
Lauan is an East Fijian language spoken by about 16,000 people on a number of islands of eastern Fiji....
and Lomaiviti
Lomaiviti language
Lomaiviti is an East Fijian language spoken by about 1600 people on a number of islands of Fiji....
all spoken within Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
The West Fijian languages are more closely related to Rotuman
Rotuman language
Rotuman, also referred to as Rotunan, Rutuman or Fäeag Rotuma, is an Austronesian language spoken by the indigenous people of the South Pacific island group of Rotuma, an island with a Polynesian-influenced culture that was incorporated as a dependency into the Colony of Fiji in 1881...
and to the Polynesian
Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...
than they are to East Fijian.