Fiji Baat

Fiji Hindi

Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Eastern Hindi/Bihari, Awadhi–Bhojpuri-based koiné)

FamilyIndo-European (Indo-Aryan, Eastern Hindi/Bihari, Awadhi–Bhojpuri-based koiné) Speakers~380K ScriptLatin and Devanagari (both co-official, Latin dominant in everyday use) CountriesFiji, with diaspora in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom Official inFiji (English, Fijian and Hindustani were given equal official status by s.4(1) of the 1997 Constitution — the 2013 Constitution names no official language but requires Hindi translations of the Constitution and compulsory conversational Fiji Hindi in schools) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3hif

Fiji Hindi, known locally as Fiji Baat, is the Indo-Aryan koiné that grew up among the descendants of the girmitiyas — indentured labourers brought from Awadh and Bhojpur to Fiji's sugar plantations between 1879 and 1916. Its core is Eastern Hindi rather than Standard Hindi: the first person singular is ham, 'two' is dui, 'fire' is aagi, and verbs are cited in an -o form (khao 'eat', pio 'drink'). A century of contact has layered in iTaukei Fijian words (nangona 'kava', nakai 'freshwater mussel') and a heavy English stratum, so that the ordinary word for cat is pusi, from English 'pussy'. It is written in both Devanagari and the Latin alphabet, with Latin dominant in print and on the Fiji Hindi Wikipedia. It remains the home language of nearly all Indo-Fijians and is a compulsory school subject, but emigration after the 1987 and 2000 coups has cut the community sharply.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Fiji Hindi

Water

paani

paːni

Fire

aagi

aːɡi

Sun

suraj

suːrədʒ

Moon

chaand

tʃãːd

Star

taaraa

taːraː

Night

raat

raːt

Rain

barsaat

bərsaːt

Snow

baraf

bərəf

Wind

hawa

ɦəʋaː

Earth

mati

maːʈiː

Stone

patthar

ˈpəttʰər

Mountain

pahaaṛ

pəɦaːɽ

Sea

samundar

səmʊndər

Mother

amma

əmːaː

Father

baap

baːp

Daughter

beti

beːʈiː

I

ham

ɦəm

You

tum

tʊm

We

hamlog

ɦəmloɡ

Name

naam

naːm

Person

admi

ədmiː

Head

muuṛ

muːɽ

Eye

aankhi

ãːkʰi

Ear

kaan

kaːn

Nose

naak

naːk

Mouth

muh

mʊɦ

Tooth

daant

dãːt

Tongue

jibh

dʒiːbʱ

Hand

haath

haːtʰ

Foot

gorr

ɡoɽ

Heart

dil

dil

Bone

haddi

həɖɖiː

Blood

khun

kʰuːn

Love

pyaar

pjaːr

Tree

perr

peɽ

Dog

kutta

kʊttaː

Cat

puusi

puːsɪ

Fish

machhri

mətʃʰriː

Bird

chirriya

tʃiɽijaː

Egg

anda

əɳɖaː

Bear

bhaalu

bʱaːluː

Horse

ghorra

ɡʱoɽaː

House

ghar

ɡʱər

Milk

dudh

duːdʱ

Honey

madh

madʱ

Salt

namak

nəmək

Wine

sharab

ʃəraːb

Iron

lohaa

loɦaː

Wheel

pahiya

pəɦijaː

Book

buk

buk

Eat

khao

kʰaːo

Drink

pio

pio

One

ek

ek

Two

dui

dʊi

Three

tiin

tiːn

Four

chaar

tʃaːr

Five

paanch

pãːtʃ

Hundred

sau

səu

Hello

namaste

nəməste

Thank you

dhanbaad

dʱənbaːd

Good

achchha

ətʃtʃʰaː

New

nawa

nəʋaː

Red

laal

laːl

White

safed

səfeːd

Black

kariya

kərijaː

Green

hariyar

hərijər

Blue

bluu

bluː

Computer

computer

kəmpjuːʈər

Tea

chaa

tʃaː

Sugar

chini

tʃiːniː

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Indo-Aryan, Eastern Hindi/Bihari, Awadhi–Bhojpuri-based koiné)

Meaning Fiji HindiCaribbean HindustaniBhojpuriHindiMagahiAwadhiMaithili
Water paani /paːni/ paani /paːni/ पानी /paːniː/ पानी /paːniː/ पानी /paːni/ पानी /paːniː/ पानि /paːni/
Fire aagi /aːɡi/ aag /aːɡ/ आगि /aːɡɪ/ आग /aːɡ/ आग /aːɡ/ आगि /aːɡi/ आगि /aːɡi/
Sun suraj /suːrədʒ/ suuraj /suːɾədʒ/ सुरुज /suɾudʒ/ सूरज /suːɾədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/
Moon chaand /tʃãːd/ caand /tʃãːd/ चान /tʃaːn/ चाँद /tʃãːd/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/
Star taaraa /taːraː/ tarai /tərai/ तारा /taːɾaː/ तारा /taːɾaː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/
Night raat /raːt/ raat /raːt/ राति /raːtɪ/ रात /raːt/ रात /raːt/ राति /raːti/ राति /raːti/
Rain barsaat /bərsaːt/ barkha /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bəɾəkʰaː/ बारिश /ˈbaːrɪʃ/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/
Snow baraf /bərəf/ baraf /bəɾəf/ बरफ /bəɾəf/ बर्फ़ /bərf/ बरफ /bərəf/ बरफ /bəɾəf/ बरफ /bərəf/
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