Western Fijian language
# Western Fijian language

Western Fijian, also known as $Wayan^{:212}$ is an Oceanic language spoken in Fiji by about 57,000 people.

It is distinct from Eastern Fijian (also known as Bauan or Standard Fijian).

## Phonology

Western Fijian consonant phonemes :

| | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Glottal |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | plain | lab. | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m mː | n | | ŋ | ŋʷ | |
| Plosive | voiced/pren. | ᵐb | ⁿd | ⁿdʒ | ᵑɡ | ᵑɡʷ | |
| Plosive | voiceless | | t | tʃ | k | kʷ | (ʔ) |
| Fricative | voiced | β | ð | | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | s | | | | h |
| Trill | Trill | | r ⁿr | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | l | j | | | |

/mː/ is heard in the Wayan $dialect.^{:212}$

Western Fijian vowel phonemes :

| | Front | Central | Back |
| - | - | - | - |
| High | i iː | | u uː |
| Mid | e eː | | o oː |
| Low | | a aː | |

Most Fijian languages have a unique prenasalized alveolar trill, transcribed here as ⟨ⁿr⟩. Western Fijian in particular, is unique among Fijian languages for having labialized velar consonants. All vowels come in long and short forms, and so does the bilabial nasal $(/m/).^{:212}$

