Fijian Language - Phonology

Phonology

The consonant phonemes of Fijian are as shown in the following table:

The consonant written ⟨nr⟩ has been described as a prenasalized trill or trilled fricative . However, it is only rarely pronounced with a trilled release; the primary feature distinguishing it from ⟨nd⟩ is that it is postalveolar, rather than dental/alveolar.

The sounds and occur only in loanwords from other languages. The sounds and only occur for speakers from certain regions of the country.

Note the asymmetry between the fricative pairs: bilabial vs. labiodental, and dental vs. alveolar .

The vowel phonemes are:

In addition, there is the rising diphthong i̯u.

Syllables can consist of a consonant followed by a vowel (CV) or a single vowel (V). Word stress is based on moras; a short vowel counts as one mora, diphthongs and long vowels count as two moras. Primary word stress then goes to the penultimate mora of the phonological word. That is, if the last syllable of a word is short, then the penultimate syllable will be stressed. If the last syllable consists of either a long vowel or a diphthong, the last syllable receives primary stress. That is, stress is on the penultimate mora. Stress is not lexical and can shift when suffixes are attached to the root. Examples:

• Stress on the penultimate syllable (final short vowel): síga, "day";
• Stress on the final syllable (diphthong): cauravóu, "youth" (the stress extends over the whole diphthong).
• Stress shift: rábe, "kick" → rabé-ta, "kick-TR"