Nadroga (pronounced ), is a prominent

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

of the

West Fijian languages The family of Central Pacific or Central Oceanic languages, also known as Fijian–Polynesian, are a branch of the Oceanic languages. Classification Ross et al. (2002) classify the languages as a linkage as follows: Lynch, John, Malcolm Ross & ...

spoken in mostly in the western region of the

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Islands. It is often used as the generic standard of West Fijian. It takes its name from the ancient region and modern day province of Nadroga/Navosa, in Viti Levu, an area already unique for its own material culture, language and beautiful landscapes. Known as one of the prestige dialects of Fiji (which include the dialects of Rewa, Cakaudrove and Lau), Nadroga is popularly identified, and sometimes lampooned, by the change of Standard Fijian 's' to 'h' and the turbulent pitch and rapidness in which the language is spoken and can widely be identified by non-speakers within Fiji as a result of those characteristics. It is a dialect that is less understood by native Fijian speakers due to different sounds and spelling of common words.(Becker E. Anne, 1995) For example, the Fijian greeting word "bula" is "cola" in Nadroga/Navosa dialect.

Geography and Distribution

Nadroga is spoken along the Southern-Western coast of the island of Viti Levu, the islands of Vatulele (or Vahilele), within the

Mamanuca Group The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the ...

as well as parts of Serua and Nadi. It is closely related to the Nadi and Serua Dialects and to a lesser extent, the dialects of Ba and Yasawa. Nadroga is spoken primarily as a first language by close to 10,000 people within the province of Nadroga-Navosa, by migrants in urban centers in

and the world. It is spoken as a second language by close to 5000 more, mostly of Indian descent. It also known by various other names such as the Nadroga Dialect, the Nadroga Language and colloquially as Nadrogan. The population of Nadroga and Navosa province are distributed in 24 districts with very strong cultural ties with their chiefly households.

Nadroga Phrases

''Hello/Life: Cola'' ''How are you?: I Kuca Koto?'' ''Pleased to meet you: E kwa marautaki na ledaru hota'' ''What's your name?: O cei mu yaca'' ''Thankyou: Vina or Vinakwa'' ''My name is...: Qu yaca o...'' ''Sorry: Vohosia '' ''Please: Kerekere'' ''Excuse me: Julou'' ''Hot/Cold: Katakata/Kakahali'' ''Rain: Ku /Juru na luvu'' ''Sun: Higa'' ''Good Morning: Cola'' ''Goodnight/Goodbye: Moce re'' ''I understand: Qi kilasia'' ''Finished: Osi ho'' ''I can't: Qi tamu/tahi/tabu rewa /tahi rewa/tasi rewa''

References

{{Reflist Fijian culture

Geography and Distribution

Nadroga Phrases

See also

References