Fijian and English/Lexical selection
eng → fij
- Case 1:
(eng) bend → (fij) pelu (e.g. bend of metal)
(eng) bend → (fij) lo’i (e.g. bend at a joint)
- -Rule: Select pelu as the translation of bend when it is followed by a kind of metal.
- -Example Sentences:
- He bends the metal.
- The child bends at her elbow.
- Case 2:
(eng) shine on → (fij) cina (light/torch shines on)
(eng) shine on → (fij) cila (sun/moon/star shines on)
- -Rule: Select cila as the translation of shine when it is preceded by sun, moon, or stars.
- -Example Sentences:
- The moon shines.
- The torch shines.
- -Tests after implementing the rule:
$ echo "The sun shines." | apertium -d . eng-fij A siga #cila.
fij → eng
- Case 1.1:
(fij) yava → (eng) leg
(fij) yava → (eng) foot
- Case 1.2:
(fij) liga → (eng) arm
(fij) liga → (eng) hand
- Case 1.3:
(fij) mata → (eng) face
(fij) mata → (eng) eye
- Case 2:
(fij) vula → (eng) moon
(fij) vula → (eng) month
- -Rule: Select month as the translation of vula when it is preceded (not immediately) by a number.
- -Example Phrases:
- e tolu a vula (three months)
- a vula levu (the big moon)
- -Tests after implementing the rule:
$ echo "e tolu a vula" | apertium -d . fij-eng #prpers #three the month
- Case 3:
(fij) basu → (eng) tear up (e.g. old clothes)
(fij) basu → (eng) tear down (e.g. old buildings)
- Case 4:Fijian does not distinguish genders on pronouns.
(fij) koya → (eng) him
(fij) koya → (eng) her
(fij) koya → (eng) it
- Case 5: (a disambiguation problem?)
The word levu can be used either as an adjective meaning "big", or a number meaning "many, much", but both numbers and adjectives can be a predicate head (like a verb).
(fij) levu → (eng) big (adj)
(fij) levu → (eng) a lot of (num)
The sentence E levu a vula. is ambiguous in Fijian, meaning either 'The moon is big.' or 'There are many months.'
