Fijian language
1
6.2
- noun
- The Fijian language has many dialects.
Examples
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She studied the Fijian language as part of her research on Pacific cultures.
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Can you speak the Fijian language?
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He is fluent in both English and Fijian language.
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The Fijian language uses a unique set of sounds not found in English.
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She studied the Fijian language as part of her research on Pacific cultures.
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The Fijian language uses a unique set of sounds not found in English.
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He is fluent in both English and Fijian language.
Synonyms
1
8.4
The language people speak in Fiji
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'Fijian' (denoting the people/place of Fiji) with 'language' (a named spoken system). This ethnicity/place + language naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows normal compositional rules, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.
Etymology
Fijian language takes its name from the country Fiji and its people: Fijian means 'from Fiji' and language means 'the way people speak', so the phrase simply means the speech of the people of Fiji. In the Fijian language it is called 'Vosa Vakaviti', which also means the Fijian people's language.