Talanoa Mada with Emily Koroi.
Origins of languages is a fascinating, complicated and interesting topic. I am always in awe of gifted people who have the ability to listen, learn, understand, interpret and speak multiple languages and wish I could be one of them. Sadly, I’m not. It’s safe to say, I’m barely bi-lingual.
On a lovely Spring afternoon in Sydney, 26 eager participants logged into Zoom to listen and learn about the Fijian language.
TALANOA MADA which translates to “Storytelling” was hosted by Emily Koroi – Class of ’82. It was a 40 minute Zoom session promoted to engage past alumni and for Emily to share with us all a little background into her heritage.
With many of us having spent our formative years growing up in Fiji – it would have been difficult not to absorb a few of the common Fijian words, phrases and niceties that were spoken in our multicultural society of Fijians, Indians, Chinese and European descendants. So it was time to hit REFRESH.
A quick Google search tells us that there are linguistic connections between Madagascar, Polynesia and South East Asia. Fiji thus belongs to a group of Austronesian-speaking peoples.
As with most languages, there are always a multitude of dialects and the Fijian language we’re told is no different. There are possibly as many dialects as there are islands in the group (over 200). It was interesting to learn that the language had its barriers in the olden days where the relationships of participants determined the flow of the conversations. It was a language that had privileges, courtesies and restrictions. Fathers and daughters were not permitted to talk to each other - unless it was an exceptional circumstance. Brothers and sisters were also not permitted to engage in dialogue. Regions, clans, family and groups all played a part in how conversations were channelled.
Thankfully, we’re told that over the decades, these strong restrictions eased and joviality and bonding within the families became easier. Welcome to the new century!
In the short time available to us, Emily gave us a Powerpoint presentation on the alphabet. She took us back to the basics of pronunciations – this is a tricky one for anyone who has not heard the language before – as it is not spoken phonetically. There are nuances in the pronunciations of certain vowels/consonants. Then it was a quick step into numbers and days of the week.
We were given some insight into introductions – when dissected showed that there was a lot of information provided. It comes with your name, your village, your district, your province when meeting with a stranger. There is great clarity. Perhaps this has come about in the days of warring and giving all this information left little room for distrust?
So with Bula (mBoolah) – Hello - Hi, Yadra (yarn-drah) – morning, Moce (mor-they) –Goodbye,
Vinaka (veenahkah) – thank you, Marama (mah-rahmah) – lady, Mother (tee-nah-nggoo),
Turaga (too-rah-nga) Man, Yalewa ( yah-le-wah) girl, Tagane (tah-gah-neh), boy -
the afternoon session had extended well past the regulated time as it brought back memories of hearing these conversations on a daily basis.
As the saying goes – “Practice makes perfect” – we’ll all be trying to learn a little more each time we meet.
By Angela Duckworth.
Zoom - Saturday 12th, September 2020.
Meeting ID- 7960023148
Password- 8xLyF6
Comments