NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Te Reo

Māori (or Maori) is the Polynesian language spoken in New Zealand, where it has official status. It is closely related to Rarotongan (sometimes known as Cook Islands Māori), Tahitian (or Mā'ohi), slightly less closely to Hawaiian and Marquesan, and more distantly to Samoan, Niuean and Tongan. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle Polynesia (from Greek, poly = many and nesos = island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages. ... The family of Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages is a subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. ... The family of Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages is a subgroup of the Central Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages. ... The Oceanic languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, containing approximately 450 languages. ... The family of Central-Eastern Oceanic languages is a subgroup of the Oceanic languages. ... The family of Remote Oceanic languages is a subgroup of the Central-Eastern Oceanic languages. ... The family of Central Pacific languages is a subgroup of the Remote Oceanic languages. ... The family of East Fijian-Polynesian languages is a subgroup of the Central Pacific languages. ... The Polynesian languages are a group of related languages spoken in the region known as Polynesia. ... Nuclear Polynesian refers to those languages comprising the Samoic the Eastern Polynesian branches of the Polynesian group of Austronesian languages. ... The Tahitic languages are a group of East Central Polynesian languages, a group which also includes Rapan and the Marquesic languages. ... New Zealands Maori Language Commission (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo MÄori) is a State organisation set up under the MÄori Language Act 1987 with the following functions: (a) To initiate, develop, co-ordinate, review, advise upon, and assist in the implementation of policies, procedures, measures, and... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages â€” Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word Ï†Ï‰Î½Î®, phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ... Unicode is an industry standard whose goal is to provide the means by which text of all forms and languages can be encoded for use by computers. ... The Polynesian languages are a group of related languages spoken in the region known as Polynesia. ... Rarotongan is an East Central Polynesian language spoken mainly in the southern Cook Islands. ... Tahitian, a Tahitic language, is the official language of French Polynesia and is spoken throughout Oceania. ... Hawaiian is the ancestral language of the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians, a Polynesian people. ... Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. ...

History

Māori was brought to New Zealand by Polynesians coming most likely from the area of the Cook Islands or Tahiti who likely arrived in sea-faring canoes which may have been double-hulled and were probably sail-rigged. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle Polynesia (from Greek, poly = many and nesos = island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ... Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, at 17Â°40â€²S 149Â°30â€²W. The island had a population of 169,674 inhabitants at the 2002 census. ...

In the last 200 years the Māori language has had a tumultuous history, going from the position of predominant language of New Zealand until into the 1860s, when it became a minority language in the shadow of the English brought by British settlers, missionaries, gold-seekers and traders. In the late 19th century, the English school system was introduced for all New Zealanders, and from the 1880s the use of Māori in school was forbidden (see Native Schools). Increasing numbers of Māori people learned English because it was required at school and because of the prestige and opportunity associated with the language. Until World War II, however, most Māori still spoke Māori as a native language. Worship was in Māori, it was the language of the home, political meetings were conducted in Māori, and some literature and many newspapers were published in Māori. As late as the 1930s, some Māori parliamentarians were disadvantaged because the Parliament's proceedings were by then carried on in English. In this period, the number of speakers of Māori began to decline rapidly until by the 1980s less than 20% of Māori spoke the language well enough to be considered native speakers. Even for many of those people, Māori was no longer the language of the home. // Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States is built in the six year period between 1863 and 1869. ... A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The British Empire was the worlds first global power and the largest empire in history. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... In New Zealand, Native Schools were established to provide education for the Maori. ... MÄori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...

By the 1980s, Māori leaders began to recognize the dangers of the loss of their language and began to initiate Māori-language recovery programs such as the Kōhanga Reo movement, which immersed infants in Māori from infancy to school age. This was followed by the founding of the Kura Kaupapa, a primary school program in Māori. The kohanga reo (English: language nests) are kindergartens where all instruction is given in the Maori language. ...

Classification

Māori is a Polynesian language. Linguists classify it as an Eastern Polynesian language belonging to the Tahitic subgroup, which includes Rarotongan, spoken in the southern Cook Islands, and Tahitian, spoken in Tahiti and the Society Islands. Also closely related are Hawaiian, and Marquesan (languages in the Marquesic subgroup), and the Rapa Nui language of Easter Island (see articles by Biggs, Clark, and Harlow cited in References section below). While all these Eastern Polynesian languages are very closely related, they are not just dialects of a single language, but languages in their own right: they have been diverging for many centuries, and mutual intelligibility is limited. Nonetheless, on his voyages to New Zealand in the late 18th Century, Captain James Cook was able to communicate effectively with Māori by using a Tahitian interpreter. The Polynesian languages are a group of related languages spoken in the region known as Polynesia. ... The Eastern Polynesian languages are a sub-phylum of the Nuclear Polynesian languages. ... The Tahitic languages are a group of East Central Polynesian languages, a group which also includes Rapan and the Marquesic languages. ... Rarotongan is an East Central Polynesian language spoken mainly in the southern Cook Islands. ... Tahitian, a Tahitic language, is the official language of French Polynesia and is spoken throughout Oceania. ... Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, at 17Â°40â€²S 149Â°30â€²W. The island had a population of 169,674 inhabitants at the 2002 census. ... The Society Islands (French: ÃŽles de la SociÃ©tÃ© or offically Archipel de la SociÃ©tÃ©) are a group of islands in the south Pacific, administratively part of French Polynesia. ... Hawaiian is the ancestral language of the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians, a Polynesian people. ... Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. ... Marquesic Languages are a small but historically important subgroup of East Central Polynesian Languages, comprising the Marquesan languages of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, Mangarevan, spoken in the Gambier Islands (also in French Polynesia), Hawaiian in its various forms, and Pukapukan, spoken in Puka-Puka and the Disappointment Islands... The Rapa Nui language (also Rapanui) is the Eastern Polynesian language of Easter Island, forming its own subgroup of that classification. ... Location of Easter Island. ... This article refers to the British navigator and cartographer. ...

Geographic distribution

Māori is spoken almost exclusively in New Zealand, by upwards of 100,000 people, nearly all of them of Māori descent. Estimates of the number of speakers vary: the 1996 census reported 160,000, while other estimates have reported as low as 50,000. The level of competence in the language of those claiming to be Māori speakers is unknown. The number of Māori-only speakers is likely to be very small indeed, counted in dozens, but of those who spoke Māori before they learnt English will be higher, because Māori persists as a community language in isolated settlements in the Northland, Urewera and East Cape areas. The Māori language effectively ceased to be a living community language in the post war years when there was a period of rapid urbanisation of the Māori population. 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Structure

Sounds

Vowels

For the non-phonologist; the five long Māori vowel sounds are similar to those of Italian or Japanese. All vowel-pairs are in use except uo, and all vowel sounds are given their full value, whether stressed or not, except as noted for Southern Māori, but final short vowels may be devoiced (giving rise to the non-Māori speakers' versions of names like Waiuku and Paraparaumu, "Waiuk" and "Paraparam"). A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ...

The most difficult vowel sounds for the English speaker are final e (as in "pen" without the n), and eu, which is rare except in "Te Heuheu" (the name of the paramount chiefs of Ngāti Tǖwharetoa). The surest sign of a non-native speaker is the sound of o, a pure "aw" sound unlike English "oh".

Consonants

<ng> is pronounced /ŋ/, that is, like the ng in English "sing." The pronunciation of <wh> varies, but it is generally pronounced /ɸ/, an "f" or "h" sound made by putting the lips together as if to make a "w" sound; today [f] (labiodental) is also used, which may be an influence from English. Māori <r> is a tap, like the <r> in Spanish, the t in the American English pronunciation of "city" or the r in the Oxford English pronunciation of "very". In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... (adj. ... In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another. ... Semivowels (also called semiconsonants or glides) are vowels that function phonemically as consonants. ... Wh is considered a single character in Maori language. ...

Syllables

A syllable in Māori has the form V, VV, CV or CVV. Two consonants are never together (ng and wh being single consonants), and no syllable ends with a consonant. (These rules give rise to such transliterations as Perehipeteriana, "Presbyeterian".) All CV combinations are in use except who. wo, wu and whu occur only in a few loan words from English such as wuru, "wool" and whutoporo, "football". This article discusses the unit of speech. ... Transliteration in a narrow sense is a mapping from one script into another script. ...

The Māori vocabulary is parsimonious; almost all possible short words are meaningful, making clear pronuncation of the vowels essential, unlike English.

Bases

Professor Bruce Biggs of the University of Auckland developed a grammar of Māori (see Biggs 1998 in References below) in which he divided bases (lexical words) into nouns, universals, statives, locatives and personals, and particles (grammatical words) into verbal particles, pronouns, locatives, possessives and definitives. Since these are based on how the language actually works, they fit better than imposed classes such as “adjective” and “adverb”.

Nouns

Bases that can take a definite article, but can not occur as the nucleus of a verbal phrase, such as ika, fish, rākau, tree. Nouns usually keep the same form in both singular and plural, the change of number being indicated by a change in the definite article from te (singular "the") to ngā (plural "the"). Some words lengthen a vowel in the plural, such as wahine, woman; wāhine, women.

Universals

Bases that can be used passively, such as inu, drink, (inumia, be drunk - of a liquid), tangi, weep (tangihia, be wept over). The passive suffixes are -a, -ia, -ina, -hia, -kia, -mia, -na, -ngia, -ria, -tia and -whia. Each universal always takes the same suffix. The passive may be used imperatively, as in Inumia!, Drink (it)!.

Statives

Bases that can be used as verbs but not passively, such as ora, alive/healthy, tika, correct.

Locatives

Bases that can follow the locative particle ki (to, towards) directly, such as runga, above, waho, outside, and placenames (ki Tamaki, to Auckland)

Personals

Bases that take the personal article a after ki, such as names of people (ki a Hohepa, to Joseph), personified houses, personal pronouns, wai? who? and Mea, So-and-so.

Nouns can be derived from bases by adding the suffixes -nga, -anga, -kanga, -manga, -ranga, -tanga or –whanga. There is a correspondence between the beginning of the passive suffix and that of the derived noun suffix, so inu drink, inumanga, occasion of or thing for drinking, and tangi, weep, tangihanga, occasion for weeping.

Particles

Verbal particles

ka – inceptive i – past kua – perfect kia – desiderative me – prescriptive e – non-past kei – warning (“lest”) ina/ana – punctative-conditional, "if and when" e … ana imperfect

Pronouns

The pronouns have singular, dual and plural number, and the first-persons are inclusive or exclusive of you, the listener.

Locatives

ki, towards; kei, at; i, past position; hei, future position - all in time or space.

Possessives

Possessives fall in two classes, a and o, depending on the dominant/subordinate relationship between possessor and possessed, so ngā tamariki o te matua, the children of the parent, but te matua a ngā tamariki, the parent of the children.

Definitives

Demonstrative: tēnei, this; tēnā, that (by you); tērā, that (far from us both); taua, the aforementioned.

Phrases

Biggs' grammar defines possible forms of the phrase, which he says is the unit of Māori speech, not the word.

Of all of the existing Polynesian languages, Māori is the only member of the group where compound nouns are formed extensively. Biggs calls these the head and the qualifier in the nucleus of a phrase. Longer compound nouns are possible but rare.

Dialects

The 1894 (Fourth) edition of Grammar of the New Zealand Language (by the Archdeacon of Auckland, R. Maunsell, LL.D.) described seven distinct dialects for the North Island alone — Rarawa, Ngapuhi, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Cape, Port Nicholson–Wanganui, and Wanganui–Mokau — but mentioned some variations within some of those. 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... An archdeacon is a position in Christian churches. ... Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... A dialect (from the Greek word Î´Î¹Î¬Î»ÎµÎºÏ„Î¿Ï‚, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... Ngapuhi form one of the major and (with over 100,000 members) the single most numerous of the Maori tribes or iwi in New Zealand, occupying much the Northland Peninsula, also known as Tai Tokerau, north of the city of Auckland. ... Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... Port Nicholson, also known by the Maorified name of Poneke, is a large natural harbour at the southwestern end of New Zealands North Island. ... Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

By 2004, many of the minor dialects have probably declined almost to extinction, and most new students and speakers can be expected to use the official and/or Māori Television standards. However, regional variants are still apparent, on different websites and even between speakers and subtitle-writers on Māori Television. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Twentieth-century broadcasting in Māori was provided by various New Zealand TV stations. ...

Dialects of Māori are nothing like the barrier to comprehension that many non-speakers believe. There are some regional variants of pronunciation and accent, and a small number of lexical differences, but it is basically a single language across the country.

A Māori phrasebook which is a useful general guide for visitors is here at Wikitravel. Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... View of Mount Taranaki from Stratford (facing west). ... The glottal stop or voiceless glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in many spoken languages. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... The South Island The South Island forms one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ...

Kāi Tahu (Southern) Māori

One dialect that has returned to prominence in recent years is the Kāi Tahu dialect, often referred to as Southern Māori. The most obvious feature is the substitution of k for ng, as evidenced in the tribal name (Ngāi Tahu is the name used in certain acts of Parliament, leading to the common usage of both versions of the name). Ngāi Tahu, or Kai Tahu, is the principal iwi (tribe) of the southern region of New Zealand. ...

Other variations from more northern dialects include variations in the sounds of consonants g (as distinct from ng or k, e.g., Katigi, Otago from Otakou), and l which substitutes for r (e.g., Little Akaloa, Kilmog (from kirimoku), Waihola, Rakiula (a variation of Rakiura or Stewart Island/Rakiura). The "wh" of northern Māori is also often replaced by a simple "w" (e.g., Wangaloa) or even "u" (e.g., uare). Lake Waihola, South Otago Lake Waihola is a tidal freshwater lake located 15 km north of Milton in Otago, on New Zealands South Island. ... Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third largest island of New Zealand. ...

Southern Māori also has apocope as a frequent feature, with the final letters of words often being pronounced as schwas or remaining unvoiced. For these reason, early European settlers to New Zealand referred, for example, to Lake Wakatipu as "Wagadib", and many locals still pronounce Otago as Otaguh. Apocope, in linguistics, refers to the loss or leaving out, or elision, of the last sound, syllable, or part of a word. ... Northern end. ... Otago pronunciation? is one of the regions of New Zealand and lies in the south-east of the South Island. ...

Until the last decade or so, Southern Māori was used uniquely in the south and was actively discouraged in favour of standard (Central North Island) Māori, which was the only form used by government and most institutions. It has gained acceptance in recent years, however, leading to changes in the official names and translations of several southern places and institutions. New Zealand's highest mountain, known for centuries as Aoraki by southern Māori, and as Aorangi by northern Māori, was later named Mount Cook after Captain Cook. Its official name now is Aoraki/Mount Cook and only this name may be printed on maps and official documents. Similarly, Dunedin's main research library (the Hocken Library) now has the name Te Uare Taoka o Hākena, rather than Te Whare Taonga o Hākena. Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. ... British explorer James Cook is most noted for having discovered Australia and Hawaii. ... Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, located in coastal Otago. ... The Hocken Library (also known by its Southern MÄori name of Te Uare Taoka o HÄkena) is a reearch library and historical archive based in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. ...

Southern Māori still leads to some confusion among general Māori speakers, who will frequently persist in using standard Māori pronunciation rather than Southern Māori for southern place names, notably the town of Oamaru (pronounced with four syllables in standard Māori, but only three in Southern Māori). pronunciation[?] Waitaki District Council building, Thames Street, Oamaru Oamaru is the largest town of North Otago in New Zealands South Island, and serves as its principal centre. ...

Writing system

There is no native writing system for Māori. Missionaries made their first attempts to write the language using the Roman alphabet as early as 1814, and Professor Samuel Lee of Cambridge University worked with chief Hongi Hika and his junior relative Waikato to systematize the written language in 1820. Their efforts at phonetic spelling were remarkably successful, and written Māori has changed little since then, with only the distinguishing of w and wh and the addition of macrons late in the 19th century, though they were not commonly used outside of specialist publications until late in the 20th. Literacy was an exciting new concept that the Māori embraced enthusiastically, and missionaries reported in the 1820s that Māori all over the country taught each other to read and write, using sometimes quite innovative materials, such as leaves and charcoal, carved wood, and the cured skins of animals, when no paper was available. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... REDIRECT [1] ... Chief can refer to : Paramount chief is the highest political leader in a region or country typically administered with a chief-based system. ... Hongi Hika (1772?â€“1828) was a New Zealand Maori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngapuhi iwi (tribe). ... Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A macron (from Gr. ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ...

There has been speculation that the petroglyphs once used by the Māori developed into a script similar to the Rongorongo of Easter Island, but there is no evidence that these petroglyphs ever evolved into a true system of writing. Rongorongo script sample Rongorongo (recitation in the Rapa Nui language), one of three scripts of Easter Island, the others being the tau and mama scripts. ... Writing may refer to two activities: the inscribing of characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other constructs that represent language or record information, and the creation of material to be conveyed through written language. ...

Some distinctive markings among the kōowhaiwhai (rafter paintings) of meeting houses were used as mnemonics in reciting whakapapa (genealogy) but again, there was no systematic relation between marks and meanings. A mnemonic (AmE [] or BrE []) is a memory aid. ...

Official status

Māori is one of two official languages of New Zealand, the other being English. Most government departments and agencies now have bilingual names, for example, the Department of Internal Affairs is known as Te Tari Taiwhenua, and bodies such as local government offices and public libraries also have bilingual signs. New Zealand Post recognises Māori place names in postal addresses. State funding for teaching of the language ensures that it is an option in all state schools and from March 2004 a Māori TV service part broadcast in the language has been funded. The current interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi sees language preservation as a Government responsibility. It is too early to know if the current attempts to revive the language are working. Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua in Maori) is New Zealands oldest government department. ... New Zealand Post Limited is the dominant postal operator in New Zealand. ... New Zealand postal addresses follow the same format as much of the English-speaking world. ...

Māori Language Week

Māori Language Day was an initiative of the activist group Ngā Tamatoa (The Young Warriors) in the 1970s. It grew into Māori Language Week, now celebrated annually in the last week of July.

Māori in English

According to New Zealand English specialist Elizabeth Gordon, many Māori loanwords, mainly bird, plant and place names, entered New Zealand English in the 19th century, but the flow stopped abruptly around the beginning of the 20th century. Only in the last quarter of the 20th century, with a revival of interest in Māori culture, has the flow resumed, this time of cultural concepts. New Zealand English is the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand, occasionally referred to within New Zealand as Newzild. ...

Words commonly used in New Zealand English:

haka – posture dance and chant of challenge Haka is the generic name for Maori war dance. ...

hāngi – (food cooked in) an earth oven Hangi is a New Zealand Maori word for a method of cooking in an outdoor pit oven. ...

Kia ora! – Hello (especially on the telephone) Kia-Ora is a concentrated orange soft drink, made by Atlantic Industries and produced in the UK by Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and by Chivers in the Republic of Ireland. ...

marae – oratory courtyard A Maori word now common in New Zealand English, marae refers an area of land where the Wharenui or meeting house (literally big house) sits. ...

Pākehā – non-Maori New Zealander (though the word is disliked by many Pākehā) PÄkehÄ is a word used in New Zealand to describe New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ...

taihoa – not yet (as “tie ho” can be declined to “tied ho” [waited, delayed] “tying ho” [waiting, delaying])

birds

kākāpō Binomial name Strigops habroptilus Gray, 1845 The Kakapo (Maori: kÄkÄpÅ, meaning night parrot), Strigops habroptilus (from the Greek strix, genitive strigos: owl and ops: face; and habros: soft, and ptilon: feather), is a species of nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand. ...

kea Binomial name Nestor notabilis Gould, 1856 The Kea (Nestor notabilis) is a semi-nocturnal parrot native to the alpine mountains of New Zealand. ...

kiwi Species A kiwi is any of the species of small flightless birds native to New Zealand of the genus Apteryx (the only genus in family Apterygidae). ...

kōkako Binomial name Callaeas cinerea (Gmelin, 1788) The Kokako (Callaeas cinerea) is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. ...

moa Genera Family Anomalopterygidae Anomalopteryx Euryapteryx Megalapteryx Family Dinornithidae Dinornis Emeus Pachyornis The moa are the giant flightless birds of New Zealand. ...

pūkeko Binomial name Porphyrio porphyrio (Linnaeus, 1758) The Purple Swamphen, Purple Gallinule or Pukeko, Porphyrio porphyrio, is a large bird in the family Rallidae. ...

takahē Binomial name Porphyrio mantelli Owen, 1848 The TakahÄ“, , is a flightless bird native to New Zealand which belongs to the rail family. ...

tūī Binomial name Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1788) The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family. ...

weka Binomial name Gallirallus australis Sparrman, 1786 The Weka or woodhen (Gallirallus australis) is an endemic bird of New Zealand. ...

insects

huhu Binomial name Prionoplus reticularis Linnaeus, 1758 The Huhu beetle (Prionoplus reticularis) is the largest native beetle found in New Zealand, a member of Cerambycidae, the family of longhorn beetles. ...

wētā Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthoptera (related to Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids) The Weta family comprises over one hundred (generally) large insect species endemic to the New Zealand archipelago. ...

reptile

tuatara Species Sphenodon punctatus Sphenodon guntheri The tuatara is a reptile, the only surviving member of Rhynchocephalia, or Sphenodontia/Sphenodontida (for more on this, see classification). ...

shellfish

paua A piece of abalone shell The outside of an abalone shell The inside surface of an abalone shell The raw meat of abalone Abalone is the American English variant of the Spanish name [AbulÃ³n] used for various species of shellfish (mollusks) from the Haliotidae family (genus Haliotis). ...

mineral

plants

kahikatea Binomial name Dacrycarpus dacrydioides Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) is an endemic tree found in New Zealand. ...

kauri Binomial name Agathis australis (D. Don) Loudon The Kauri (Agathis australis) is a coniferous tree native to the northern North Island of New Zealand. ...

kūmara Binomial name Ipomoea batatas Linnaeus The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. ...

matakoura (known as “matagouri”) Binomial name Discaria toumatou Matagouri, Discaria toumatou, is a species of buckthorn plant endemic to New Zealand. ...

rimu Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) is a large evergreen coniferous tree native to the forests of New Zealand. ...

toetoe Toetoe is the Maori name in common usage for the Cortaderia species found in New Zealand. ...

tutu Tutu can refer to: In Polynesian mythology (Samoa), Tutu was the first man to live on Tutuila. ...

Words commonly understood in English, but considered Māori words and concepts

Ka pai! – It is good! (may be declined with the meaning “good”, as “it was kapai.”)

References

External links

Categories: Pages containing IPA | Languages of the Cook Islands | Languages of New Zealand | Maori | Polynesian languages | Austronesian languages | Tahitic languages Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1058x1058, 477 KB) aa Wikipedia logo, version 1058px square, no text Wikipedia logo by Nohat (concept by Paullusmagnus); compare Wikipedia File links The following pages link to this file: Arabic language Talk:Anarcho-capitalism Talk:Algorithm Talk:Anno Domini Talk:The... The Wikipedia logo. ... The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealands oldest university. ...

Contents

History var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

Classification

Geographic distribution

Structure

Sounds

Vowels

Consonants

Syllables

Bases

Nouns

Universals

Statives

Locatives

Personals

Particles

Verbal particles

Pronouns

Locatives

Possessives

Definitives

Phrases

Dialects

Kāi Tahu (Southern) Māori

Writing system

Official status

Māori Language Week

Māori in English

Words commonly used in New Zealand English:

birds

insects

reptile

shellfish

mineral

plants

Words commonly understood in English, but considered Māori words and concepts

References

External links

History