Talk:Fiji

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Semi-protected edit request on 30 May 2023

Change From: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first known European visitor to Fiji, sighting the northern island of Vanua Levu and the North Taveuni archipelago in 1643 while looking for the Great Southern Continent.[citation needed]

To: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first known European visitor to Fiji, sighting the northern island of Vanua Levu and the North Taveuni archipelago in 1643 while looking for the Great Southern Continent. CitationCreator2023 (talk) 04:45, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

 Done Lightoil (talk) 05:27, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

References

Semi-protected edit request

In society, under Demographics, in the sentence where it mentions Indo Fijians, please redirect descendants of Indian contract labourers brought to the islands to Indian indenture system (i.e. Indian contract labourers brought to the islands). 107.120.35.41 (talk) 05:16, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

 Done-gadfium 05:52, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

the Japanese Tattoo Culture, Maori Batok and WarayWaray Tintadus Patik Connection

i do some have clue on this, they are closely related 103.224.95.4 (talk) 13:09, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

I cannot understand what you are trying to say; I almost deleted this section as pure gibberish. Are you suggesting that irezumi and patik are related? How is this relevant to Fiji? –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 16:55, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Fiji Hindi

Claiming that the official language of Fiji is Fijian Hindi when the constitution of Fiji states that it is Hindi constitutes "original research".

The actual constitution of Fiji states that the language is Hindi. All documents put out by the government of Fiji are in standard Hindi.

Note 4 in the article says, "in the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, it is simply called "Hindi", still implying Fiji Hindi, rather than the standard Hindi of India."

Can someone please provide some evidence about why this implies Fiji Hindi?

I recognize that there are variations of Hindi spoken around the world, but all the documents made by the government of Fiji (the Constitution, information about public health, literary awards) are published in standard Hindi in the Devanagari alphabet. Surely this reality should be acknowledged in Wikipedia? I have in the past linked to Fijian government documents and videos to show that they are in standard Hindi but they seem to have been removed.

Can someone please explain why Wikipedia insists on Fiji's government recognizing Fiji Hindi, when the government and its constitution use standard Hindi and explicitly use the word "Hindi"?

Ahassan05 (talk)ahassan05 Ahassan05 (talk) 16:50, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

A constitution should be interpreted within the context that it was written under.

Any mention of 'Indian' in an official capacity in the US or Canada would more often than not refer to their indigenous groups albeit those might be more likely from a century ago. Similarly, one might reasonably expect that any mention of 'Hindi' in a South Asian context would mean Standard Hindi and not Fiji Hindi.

Also, section 31(3) of the 2013 Constitution states:

"Conversational and contemporary iTaukei and Fiji Hindi languages shall be taught as compulsory subjects in all primary schools."

So it's only reasonable to assume that any mention of Hindi in the constitution is referring to Fiji Hindi.

Regarding the government's use of Standard Hindi and Devanagari, you have to understand that Fiji Hindi is not standardised (yet) so I can only hazard a guess that for official correspondences they are required to use Standard Hindi. Fjii (talk) 23:50, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

The reliable source for a country's official languages is the literal wording of that country's constitution (or whichever of the country's laws explicitly specify "these are our country's official languages").

You do not have the privilege or the right to use Wikipedia to spread your own interpretation of what a country's constitution and laws say - not even if you live there, not even if you are the head of its government.

If a country's official languages do not properly match what they are actually using, it is not your business to revise their constitution for them. TooManyFingers (talk) 15:37, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

It isn't even necessary to prove that Fijian government documents are in standard Hindi. Official languages are a separate matter from what may be in daily use. The official languages are whatever the directly relevant laws say they are, in exactly the words and format of those laws, and no one is qualified to argue with that.

You two have been arguing about what languages are currently used in Fiji. That may be a worthwhile argument to have, if it is done in a better context. But it has nothing to do with official languages.

(However, I would point out that the law only says "Hindi"; it does not specify "Standard Hindi". In language study, when the word "Hindi" is used alone, it may be correct to assume that it means the standard version of the language. But in law, the same assumption might not be valid.) TooManyFingers (talk) 16:17, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

"Blackbirding and slavery" question

This subsection of the article claims:

"Thousands of European planters flocked to Fiji to establish plantations, but found the natives unwilling to adapt to their plans."

They were "unwilling to adapt"? Seriously? Shouldn't this say something like "unwilling to be slaves, but too numerous, too well established, and too well armed to be taken by force"?

Planters could easily themselves have "adapted", by advertising that they were hiring a large number of workers and waiting for the crowds of eager applicants. There is a reason they did not do that. TooManyFingers (talk) 15:21, 26 May 2024 (UTC)