From Hindustani to (Fiji) Hindi and Back to Fiji Baat? Metalinguistic Reconstructions of the National Variety of Hindi in Fiji. Issue 2 (3rd April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Willans, Fiona; Prasad, Rajendra
• Is Part Of: Journal of Pacific history. Volume 56:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 101
• Page End: 118
• Publication Date: 2021-04-03
• Subjects: Fiji Hindi -- Fiji Baat -- Hindustani -- national identity; Oceania -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Oceania -- History -- Periodicals; Pacific Area -- History -- Periodicals; Islands of the Pacific -- History -- Periodicals; 995.005
• DOI: 10.1080/00223344.2021.1914456
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3344

Abstract

ABSTRACT: One factor that has united Fijians of Indian descent is the language of Fiji Hindi, or Fiji Baat. Developed on the plantations of the indenture period, it is now the mother tongue of virtually all Indo-Fijians, distinct from the Standard Hindi that is taught in schools. This paper examines the way these two varieties of Hindi have been metalinguistically reconstructed from the early colonial period to the present day, focusing particularly on the labels Hindustani, Hindi, Fiji Hindi and Fiji Baat . We examine the extent to which Fiji Hindi fits into the pan-Fijian identity that is supposed to unite all Fiji citizens without drawing attention to ethnic difference. We argue that the acceptance of Fiji Hindi as part of a hybrid national identity is impeded both by this political erasure of ethnicity, and by the lingering negative attitudes expressed by its own speakers about the intralingual variation within Hindi.