It’s Fijian Language Week and the theme is ‘Vakamareqeta na Vosa Vakaviti – Nurture and sustain the Fijian language.’
The archipelago of the Republic of Fiji has a rich history and is one of the most developed economies in the Pacific. Fiji consists of some 300 islands but only 100 are inhabited, and are home to some 900,000 people.
Aotearoa New Zealand has a diaspora of almost 20,000 Fijians; the majority residing in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Language revitalisation has become crucial with statistics showing just 11 percent of Fijians born in New Zealand are able to speak their heritage language.
Dr Patricia Loga is a lecturer from the University of Auckland’s Business School and graduated earlier this year with a PhD in Management Studies from Massey University.
Loga hails from the village of Tubou on the island of Lakeba in the Lau Province of Fiji; this is also the resting place of the late paramount chief of Lau, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who was the first Prime Minister of Fiji.
She has maternal links to the village of Yaroi, on the island of Matuku, also in the Lau Province. Born and raised in Suva, spending time with both sides of her family while growing up, has been a strong factor in maintaining her language.
“Although my parents are both from Lau, they speak different dialects, so my siblings and I often find ourselves mixing up the two dialects when we speak it.
“I also speak iTaukei (Bau dialect) and for my Lau dialect, I speak at a basic level but understand it well when spoken.”
It was her father who helped build a solid foundation with her heritage language despite English being widely spoken in Fiji.
“Growing up, one of my father’s rules was to speak our native language at home and only speak English at work or in school.
“He reminded us that because English was the spoken language everywhere else outside our home, the least we could do was speak Fijian at home. My mother encouraged us to attend the Fijian ward of our local LDS church. So that also strengthened my knowledge and practice of formal spoken and written Fijian.”
Did you know?
Fiji has three official languages: English, Fijian and Fiji Hindi.
The island of Matuku where Loga’s late mother is from, regularly attracts world class surfers who travel there to surf and chill.
The islands of the Lau province are so scattered that some are geographically closer to Tonga than Suva, Fiji’s capital.
Fiji gained independence from the British in 1970 after 96 years as a British colony.
The 180th meridian, commonly known as the International Date Line cuts through the island of Taveuni, allowing residents to time travel from one day to the next.
