Description

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This book is based on over fifty years of research on the Fijian language--both the standard language and its many dialects. It does not attempt to follow any particular linguistic theory, but in contrast, focuses heavily on describing the language in context. The data that it is based on include material written and spoken by Fijians--ranging from the advice offered by the author's colleagues in the Fijian (monolingual) Dictionary Project to Fijian-language newspapers and textbooks, to recordings of loanwords and casual conversations, and--most recently--the text and DVD of a recent Fijian play, Lakovi. It differs significantly from other grammars in its treatment of subjects and objects (and the noun phrases related to them), and how they figure in a grammatical category called "specification." This category is also important for reanalyzing the function of noun phrases within the areas of transitivity and possession. The treatment of phonology is centered on a unit of accent called the "measure." It is shown that, contrary to even recent treatments, accent is not predictable, but is instead dependent on putting different kinds of measures together. It also studies, for the first time, the relationship between morphemes and measures--the degrees to which they correspond or differ. Finally, it makes a beginning at discussing different styles of Fijian, reflected by both phonology and the lexicon.