Māori language
Maori or Te Reo (in Maori) is an East Polynesian Austronesian language closely related to Samoan, Tongan and Hawai'ian. It is the indigenous language of New Zealand, where it is still in daily use within Maori culture. Together with English, Maori is an official language of New Zealand and may be used, as of right, in the parliament and courts of law, although when used in these circumstances it is customary to ensure translators are available or provide a translation into English.
The Maori Language Commission is a New Zealand government commission that has been established to support and promote Maori as a living language and as an ordinary means of communication.
Prior to the arrival of missionaries in New Zealand, there was no written language. The language was recorded in a regular and scientific manner by the missionary linguists and is spelled phonetically with one letter symbol for each sound. Generally, syllables commence with a consonant and end with a vowel or are a vowel alone. The nearest sounding English language letters were used to represent the Maori language sounds. Although the phonetic match is not exact, an unfamiliar Maori word can normally be competently and understandably rendered by any English speaker, at first encounter, by following the general rule.
For Example:
- Maori => ma o ri
- Whanganui => wha nga nu i
- Paraparaumu => pa ra pa ra u mu, (though it has been anglicised as pa ra par ram)
- Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu => Ta u ma ta wha ka ta ngi ha nga ko au au o ta ma te a tu ri pu ka ka pi ki ma u ng a ho ro nu ku po ka i whe nu a ki ta na ta hu (Yes it is a real Maori word!)
Attempts to pronounce Maori words by visitors to New Zealand who have not mastered this simple rule are often met with blank looks, total lack of understanding, expressions of pain or howls of laughter or derision once the improperly pronounced word is understood. Unfortunately it is a frequent habit of New Zealanders to accept such mispronounciations without correction or drawing attention to the error. Pronounciational differences between different tribal dialects exist.
The only weakness with the phonetic spelling system is that long vowel sounds were not easily represented. Modifications to the early records saw various symbols such as dots or accentation marks being placed over the vowel letters, or the letter being repeated, to represent a long vowel sound. Recently the Maori Language Commission has recommended that a macron or bar be placed above long vowels in words.
This means that the word Maori is more correctly shown as Māori. However, the "a" with the macron may display as a square on some web browsers. The Maori Language Commission provides an appropriate Unicode character set to assist with such problems.
Pronunciation
The vowels are pronounced as shown below, allowing for differences in English pronunciation:
| a | but | ā | father |
|---|---|---|---|
| e | pen | ē | pair |
| i | bit | ī | beet |
| o | fort | ō | store |
| u | put | ū | boot |
Adjacent vowels are run together as a diphthong. For example, "kai" (food) rhymes with "high".
The consonants are h, k, m, n, ng, p, r, t, w and wh, and are mostly pronounced as in English. The combination "wh" should be prounced either with a distinct "h" as in "which", or a very soft "f". The combination "ng" is always pronounced as in "singer", never as in "finger" or "manger". The "r" is slightly rolled, but not trilled.
Correspondences
Here are some Maori~Hawai'ian sound correspondences1, using SAMPA representation:
| Maori | Hawai'ian | Example(s) |
| /t/ | /k/ | Tangata Maori ~ Kanaka Maoli ; te Atua ~ ke Akua |
| /N/ | /n/ | |
| /r/ | /l/ | aroha ~ aloha |
| /k/ | /?/ |
1. See the comparative method of linguistics.
External links
- Ethnologue report for Maori
- Maori Language Commission (for definitive standards)
- English and Maori Word Translator - From Otago University