F

The Faliscans were one of the many ethnic groups of ancient Italy before the Romans dominated the peninsula. In fact, they were not terribly different from the Romans. Both held small territories but lived under the aegis the Etruscans. The Faliscans were neighbors of the Romans, as their main city, Falerii (now Cívita Castellana), was only 72 km (or 45 miles) from Rome. The Faliscan language was also the closest language to Latin within the larger Italic language branch of the Indo-European family.

Like the Romans, the Faliscans also adapted the Etruscan alphabet for their language. However, the Faliscan language is not too well-known, as only 100 inscriptions have been found in the area surrounding Cívita Castellana.

Faliscan language, the language of the ancient Falisci, is preserved in some 36 short inscriptions, dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, and is written in a variety of the Old Italic alphabet derived from the Etruscan, and written from right to left, but showing some traces of the influence of the Latin alphabet.

When the earliest inhabitants of Fiji arrived 3500 years ago, they brought with them the language of the homeland they had set sail from - an island in Vanuatu, or possibly the Solomons (but certainly not Africa!).

That language has changed and splintered over the years into a multitude of different 'communalects' now numbering more than 300. This is because language divides naturally as people spread out, and there may have been some additional input from more recent immigrants from other islands lying to the west.

The Fijian 'communalects' belong to the enormous Austronesian language family, which means they are related to thousands of other languages spanning the globe from Malagasy in the west to Rapanui (Easter Island) in the east, from Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the south to Hawaii and Taiwan in the north. The family includes such important national languages as Tagalog (Philippines) and Malay. After Fiji had been settled, the flow of population continued north and east. The languages of Polynesia (such as Maori, Tahitian, Tongan, Samoan and Hawaiian), the language of the tiny island of Rotuma to the north of Fiji, and of course their speakers, all originated in Fiji more than 3000 years ago. These relationships can be clearly seen in the following table of selected words.

The early missionaries had a keen appreciation of the importance of using local language in their work, and by 1840 had already devised an excellent spelling system for Fijian as well as published a number of books in different 'communalects'. When the need for a standard language became apparent, they selected the language of Bau, the tiny island off the south-east coast of Viti Levu which was, and in some ways still is, the seat of the major power in Fijian politics. Nowadays the spoken Fijian of the towns and the Fijian used in books and newspapers are both known as 'Bauan', even though neither is quite the same as the language of the island of Bau.

Common idiosyncrasies of Fijian words: The letter "b" is prononounced "mb" Therefore, Bure is "mBure"
The letter "d" is prononounced "nd" Therefore, Nadi is "Nandi"
The letter "q" is prononounced "ng" Therefore, Beqa Island is "Benga Island"
The letter "c" is prononounced "th" Therefore, Caneili is "Thaneili"



General Fijian dialect (understood by all villagers at Fijian villages):

Bula - "Hello"

Ni Sa Bula or Bula Vinaka - A warm "hello"

Andra Vinaka - Good Morning

Kava - traditional narcotic (relaxing) drink)

Nataune (pronounced "gnauna") ni gunuyaqona - Is it kava time?

Kana - let's eat

Wai - River

Waitui - Sea

Lotu - Church

The Fijians are pretty easy-going, but if you are invited into a village, wear modest clothing and take off your hat (wearing one is an insult to the chief) when in the village. Leave your shoes outside the door when entering a home and keep in mind that it's also insulting to touch someone's head - which can be tempting when you are surrounded by wide-eyed, smiling children.

If you are invited to drink kava, don't ask, just enjoy the ritual and the tumb noungue, sorry - the numb tongue.

When visiting a village, it is customary to present a gift of kava, which is also known as " yaqona ". The gift, (a "sevusevu"), will cost less than F$20 for a half kilo. If you are accompanied by a guide, he/she will look after that. The sevusevu is presented to the traditional head of the village ("Turaga Ni koro"). After it's been pounded into powder and mixed with water, it is usually served in the head person's house.

Be prepared to shake hands and answer personal questions like, where are you from, are you married, how many children do you have… and so on.

Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 350,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language. The 1997 Constitution established Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Hindustani, and there is discussion about establishing it as the "national language," though English and Hindustani would remain official. Fijian is a VOS language.

Finnish has notorious reputation of being a difficult language. Is this true? What is 'a difficult language'? We all learn a mother tongue as children as a matter of course. Finnish children learn Finnish as easily as their counterparts in other countries learn their mother tongue. In this sense Finnish is no more difficult than any other language. But, of course, when people talk about 'a difficult language', what they really mean is a language that is thought to be particularly difficult for a foreign adult learner.

In this article I discuss some features of Finnish which in my experience as a teacher of Finnish to foreigners for many years are perceived as difficult, but in reality are simply different, for example, from English. To illustrate this difference I shall start with some historical background. Secondly, I shall discuss certain points of grammar: phonology (the sound system and pronunciation), morphology (how Finnish words are put together), and syntax (what is special about Finnish sentences). Finally, I shall suggest why and how Finnish has gained its reputation as 'a difficult language'

What do Santa Claus, saunas, suicides, IRC, ammonium chloride, vowels with lots of cute dots on them, reindeer, Nokia cell phones, and gold-medalist ski jumpers who have recently turned into porn stars all have in common? That's right -- they're all Finnish! Who needs sexist languages such as English when Finnish provides the gender-neutral word hän, which translates as "he or she"? Finnish (or Suomi) is also a much more compact language than English:


You will be able to have some of my apples = Saat omenoitani.

Perhaps not surpsisingly, Finnish is not related to any of the Indo-European languages. Hungarian, Estonian, and Sami (Laplander) are some of its closest living relatives.

Impress your friends at parties with Finnish linguistic trivia! Here is a collection of indispensable phrases to use (and not to use!) while mingling with the restless natives during your travels though Finland, from Hanko to Ivalo!

The Boston Language Institute, New England’s leading language school, offers Finnish language courses to individuals and companies. The quality of instruction provided in our Finnish language classes are on a par with the best native Finnish language school.

We consider it to be the major goal of our program to have you use Finnish in as large a variety of real-life situations as possible. To that end, our Finnish courses have been designed to build fluency in both the spoken and the written language. Please note that unless we have the minimum enrollment of four students at the beginning of each of our four main sessions (consisting of eight weeks), we are not able to offer a regularly scheduled group class. Students have the choice of either placing their names on a waiting list for a possible group class or making arrangements for private instruction.

People learn Finnish for many reasons. Perhaps

you are of Finnish descent and you want to learn something of your heritage and culture.

you have a spouse, parents, or other relatives who speak little or no English and with whom you wish to communicate.

you plan to travel and would like to learn "survival Finnish."

you have visited Finland, fallen in love with the country, and desire to return with an ability to communicate in more fluent Finnish.

Whatever your reason for wanting to learn Finnish, we at the Finnish School are committed to teaching you practical Finnish in a comfortable and enjoyable environment.

Learning Finnish isn't impossible, it's fun!
Although Finnish is known as one of the hardest languages of Europe, don't let this discourage you. It can be both a rewarding and interesting endeavor. To learn any language requires hard work and diligence. But unlike a regular school, the environment here is friendly and entertaining.

Finnish can be learned!
Take the plunge! Be brave!

Some five million Finns have managed it, as have a number of persistent foreigners with a real interest in it.

The Finnish language has many consistencies which facilitate learning:

Every letter has only one sound which is always pronounced the same.

The accent is always on the first syllable of the word.

The verb structure is uncomplicated, and closely resembles the structure in English.

Conjugations and declinations have remarkably consistent rules, with few exceptions.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------