Talk:Rotumans

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There are many, many issues with this article, as well as a lack of references.

First: The Fijian languages are not “Melanesian languages.” They form one branch of the Polynesian language tree. Western Fijian and Rotuman form one limb of the tree, while the other is formed by the Eastern Fijian-Polynesian languages (I.e. Bauan Fijian, Lauan, Tongan, Sāmoan, etc.). This has been proven by linguists time and time again and it makes sense as Fijians are a mixture of Melanesian and Polynesian peoples. Insinuating that Fijian is a Melanesian language with no relation to Polynesian languages is misleading.

Second: As for the Rotumans— they are a mixture of Fijian, Sāmoan, Tongan, Melanesian, and Micronesian peoples. They did not originate from Tahiti, nor do their languages bear any resemblance to Tahitians in any way. Rotuma was inhabited well before Tahiti was, meaning that it makes no sense to claim that tahitians populated Rotuma.

Third: Rotumans have an appearance typical of Polynesians (from the eastern half of Fiji to Hawaii). They do not look “Tahitian” or “Native American.”

Please stop posting false information about the Rotuman community. It does a disservice to the people and doesn’t bring the proper visibility to their beautiful culture and history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:646:8081:1BA0:398C:BDFE:F853:B32E (talk) 10:39, 22 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]