A Grammatical Analysis of the Nakasaleka Dialect

Abstract

Dialects in Fiji are normally referred to by the name of the province in which they belong (for exanrple, the Revia dialect, the Bau dialect, the Serua dialect, the Lau dialect, the Kadavu dialect etc.), although in reality, they do not correspond exactly vnth any such regional boundaries. Fijian could be viewed as a continuum, for the language actually alters little by little as one moves from village to village. It is believed that the rost clearly defined group in eastern Fiji is the Kadavu dialect(s), which contains a large body of unique innovations, vdth a few innovations being shared with other eastern regions. In focussing this paper on the Nakasaleka dialect, I was fortunate to have had Ilai V. Senivota as my infornant. Ilai, thirty-five years old, is from lfakaunakoro village in the district of Nakasaleka, Kadavu. He was first educated at the Nakasaleka District School, and then for four years, at an Intermediate School called "Provincial School Southern" in Vunisea.