Western Fijian language

Western Fijian
Native to Fiji
Region western half of Viti Levu, Yasawa Islands and Mamanuca Islands
Native speakers
(57,000 cited 1977)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 wyy
Glottolog west2519[2]

Western Fijian is an Oceanic language spoken in Fiji by about 57,000 people.

It is distinct from Eastern Fijian (also known as Bauan or Standard Fijian), though it is not taught in schools. Colonial linguists considered Eastern Fijian to be superior, and thus marginalized Western Fijian.

References

  1. Western Fijian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Western Fijian". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.


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