Fijian/Alphabet and pronunciation

Fijian language uses the same Latin alphabet as English. The official Fijian alphabet consists of the same letters as English does.

Letters H, X and Z are used in the Fijian language but only in words borrowed from English.

Fijian pronunciation is not very difficult for the English speakers to learn. The Fijian vowels are pronounced as they are written. However, some consonants are pronounced differently from English:

• B is pronounced "mb" as in 'bamboo'.
• C is a lisped "th" as in 'feather'.
• D is pronounced "nd" as in 'candy'.
• J is pronounced "nj" as in 'conjunction' or, by some people, "ch" as in 'chocolate'.
• G is pronounced "ng" as in 'sing'.
• Q is pronounced "ng" as in 'mango'.

The vowels and diphthongs are pronounced the same as those of Spanish. And the diphthongs are {|Ai|au|ei|Eu|oi|ou|}. The long vowels are marked with the only diacritic in the language, a ${\bar {}}$. And, the stress goes on the ultimate if it is short, and the penultimate if it is long or a diphthong.