Fiji Hindi

The debate on the use of Fiji Hindi rages on long after the first Regional Hindi Conference was held in Suva. There are people on both sides of the divide passionately defending or opposing the idea of using Fiji Hindi on our national radio channels.

Riaz Sayed-Khaiyum, chief executive officer of FBC, has given his side of the story.

Not necessarily acceptable to all.

I view Fiji Hindi as a wonderful lingua franca for the people of Fiji because it has evolved from some undeniable historical facts.

It has its origin in the arrival of indentured labourers from India to work mainly on sugarcane plantations and to build infrastructure for communication.

They came from different parts of India and spoke different languages. As a tool for survival they evolved a new communication system in which many dialects were blended for communication purposes.

Fiji Hindi we have today is a beautiful evolution of that effort and it is here to stay. There is so much ease and so much flavor when you listen to it spoken in homes, workplaces, market places and even in social gatherings.

Even some slang and swear words have become part of Fiji Hindi and it is best avoided on our national radio and television channels. Some finesse and discretion is expected.

Those who are worried that standard (sudh) Hindi may be replaced or digested by Fiji Hindi are sadly mistaken.

Standard Hindi will be continued to be taught in our classrooms and be used on formal occasions.

Our students will continue to sit external examinations at different levels and so standard Fiji Hindi will continue to flourish.

And as long as Bollywood films keep coming to Fiji there is no danger of IndiaFiji Hindi link dying. Furthermore, those who are interested to preserve and upgrade their Hindi in par with India should encourage their bright scholars to go to India for Hindi studies or to pursue Hindi studies at the University of the South Pacific

May I request the university linguistics department to carry out research to find out how exactly Fiji Hindi evolved.

Only thing left for Jerry Tuwai is to Captain the Olympic Gold winning team this year. What say John O’Connor!