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Māori language influence on New Zealand English

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Akiwion an 1898 New Zealand stamp. The bird, which is a national icon of New Zealand, takes its name from the Māori language.

During the 19th century,New Zealand Englishgained manyloanwordsfrom theMāori language.[1]The use of Māori words in New Zealand English has increased since the 1990s,[2][3]and English-language publications increasingly usemacronsto indicate long vowels.[4]Māori words are usually not italicised in New Zealand English, and most publications follow the Māori-language convention of the same word for singular and plural (e.g. onekākāpō,three kākāpō).[5][6][7]

Plants and animals[edit]

Large numbers of native plants and animals retain their Māori names in New Zealand English. Examples include:

Other terms[edit]

"Kia ora"(literally" be healthy ") is a Māori term of greeting, meaning" hello "or" welcome ". It can also mean" thank you ", or signify agreement with a speaker at a meeting. The Māori greetings" tēnā koe "(to one person)," tēnā kōrua "(to two people) or" tēnā koutou "(to three or more people) are also widely used, as are farewells such as" haere rā ".

The Māori phrase "kia kaha","be strong ", is frequently encountered as an indication of moral support for someone starting a stressful undertaking or otherwise in a difficult situation. Although previously in common usage it became an iconic phrase of support following the2010 Canterbury earthquake.

Somehybrid words,part English and part Māori, have developed, the most common of which is probablyhalf-pai— often writtenhalf-pie— meaning incomplete or substandard quality,paibeing the Māori word for "good". (The portmanteau formhalf-piedis also used, derived fromhalf-baked.) Similarly, the Māori word ending-tanga,which has a similar meaning to the English ending-ness,is occasionally used in terms such askiwitanga(that is, the state of being a New Zealander[8]).

Several Māori words are used in English as lighthearted, or even slang, equivalents of their more common English counterparts. The termpukufor stomach, for example, is more likely to be encountered during a friendly chat than in more formal circumstances, with one of its uses being a euphemism for a large belly.

English words intimately associated with New Zealand are often of Māori origin, such ashaka,[9]Pākehā,[10]Aotearoa,[11]kiwi,[12]and the word Māori itself.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Andersen, Johannes C. (1946)."Maori words incorporated into the English language".Journal of the Polynesian Society.55(2): 141–162.
  2. ^Roy, Eleanor Ainge (28 July 2018)."'Māori has gone mainstream': the resurgence of New Zealand's te reo language ".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved11 May2020.
  3. ^Lines-MacKenzie, Jo (13 September 2018)."The use of Māori language accelerating in newspapers".Stuff.Retrieved11 May2020.
  4. ^Crewdson, Patrick (11 September 2017)."Why Stuff is introducing macrons for te reo Māori words".Stuff.Retrieved11 May2020.
  5. ^Coppard, Alice; McLay, Geoff; Murray, Christopher; Orpin-Dowell, Johnathan (2018).New Zealand Law Style Guide(3 ed.). Thomson Reuters.ISBN978-1-98-855315-3.Māori words should generally not be italicised.…Macrons must be used as appropriate to indicate vowel length.
  6. ^"The Govt.nz style guide".New Zealand Government.9 December 2016.Retrieved12 May2020.Words considered to be part of NZ English do not need to be marked up in Govt.nz as the Māori language.
  7. ^Green, David (30 November 2018)."Guide to style".NZHistory, New Zealand history online.Retrieved12 May2020.Do not italicise Maori words.
  8. ^Asiata, William Tiʻitiʻi."Das Kiwitanga".Retrieved27 October2021.
  9. ^"Definition of haka in English".British & World English.Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2017.Retrieved15 November2017.haka NOUN: A Maori ceremonial war dance involving chanting, an imitation of which is performed by New Zealand rugby teams before a match.... Origin: Maori.
  10. ^"Definition of Pakeha in English".British & World English.Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2017.Retrieved15 November2017.Pakeha NOUN: NZ – A white New Zealander as opposed to a Maori. as modifier 'Pakeha influences'... Origin: Maori.
  11. ^"Definition of Aotearoa in English".British & World English.Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2017.Retrieved15 November2017.Aotearoa PROPER NOUN: Maori name for New Zealand... Origin: Maori, literally 'land of the long white cloud'.
  12. ^"Definition of kiwi in English".British & World English.Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2017.Retrieved15 November2017.kiwi NOUN: 1 – A flightless New Zealand bird with hair-like feathers, having a long downcurved bill with sensitive nostrils at the tip. Family Apterygidae and genus Apteryx: three species... 2 – informal A New Zealander.... Origin: Mid 19th century: from Maori.
  13. ^"Definition of Maori in English".British & World English.Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2017.Retrieved15 November2017.Maori NOUN: 1 – A member of the aboriginal people of New Zealand.... 2 – mass noun The Polynesian language of the Maoris, with about 100,000 speakers.... ADJECTIVE – Relating to the Maoris or their language.... Origin: The name in Maori.

Further reading[edit]

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