Māori language influence on New Zealand English explained

During the 19th century, New Zealand English gained many loanwords from the Māori language.[1] The use of Māori words in New Zealand English has increased since the 1990s,[2] [3] and English-language publications increasingly use macrons to 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. one kākāpō, three kākāpō).[5] [6] [7]

Plants and animals

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

Other terms

"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 the 2010 Canterbury earthquake.

Some hybrid words, part English and part Māori, have developed, the most common of which is probably half-pai — often written half-pie — meaning incomplete or substandard quality, pai being the Māori word for "good". (The portmanteau form half-pied is also used, derived from half-baked.) Similarly, the Māori word ending -tanga, which has a similar meaning to the English ending -ness, is occasionally used in terms such as kiwitanga (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 term puku for 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 as haka,[9] Pākehā,[10] Aotearoa,[11] kiwi,[12] and the word Māori itself.[13]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Andersen. Johannes C.. 1946. Maori words incorporated into the English language . Journal of the Polynesian Society. 55. 2. 141–162.
  2. News: Roy. Eleanor Ainge. 2018-07-28. 'Māori has gone mainstream': the resurgence of New Zealand's te reo language. en-GB. The Guardian . 2020-05-11. 0261-3077.
  3. Web site: The use of Māori language accelerating in newspapers. Lines-MacKenzie. Jo. 13 September 2018. Stuff. en. 2020-05-11.
  4. Web site: Why Stuff is introducing macrons for te reo Māori words. Crewdson. Patrick. 11 September 2017. Stuff. en. 2020-05-11.
  5. Book: Coppard, Alice. New Zealand Law Style Guide. McLay. Geoff. Murray. Christopher. Orpin-Dowell . Johnathan. Thomson Reuters. 2018. 978-1-98-855315-3. 3. Māori words should generally not be italicised.…Macrons must be used as appropriate to indicate vowel length..
  6. Web site: The Govt.nz style guide . 9 December 2016. New Zealand Government. en-NZ. 2020-05-12. Words considered to be part of NZ English do not need to be marked up in Govt.nz as the Māori language..
  7. Web site: Guide to style. Green. David. 30 November 2018. NZHistory, New Zealand history online. 2020-05-12. Do not italicise Maori words..
  8. Web site: Das Kiwitanga. William Tiʻitiʻi. Asiata. 27 October 2021.
  9. Web site: Definition of haka in English. https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083243/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/haka . dead . 15 November 2017 . British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. 15 November 2017 . 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. Web site: Definition of Pakeha in English . https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083013/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pakeha . dead . 15 November 2017 . British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. 15 November 2017 . Pakeha NOUN: NZ – A white New Zealander as opposed to a Maori. as modifier 'Pakeha influences'... Origin: Maori..
  11. Web site: Definition of Aotearoa in English . https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143510/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Aotearoa . dead . 15 November 2017 . British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. 15 November 2017 . Aotearoa PROPER NOUN: Maori name for New Zealand ... Origin: Maori, literally 'land of the long white cloud'..
  12. Web site: Definition of kiwi in English . https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143614/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kiwi . dead . 15 November 2017 . British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. 15 November 2017 . 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. Web site: Definition of Maori in English . https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143651/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/maori . dead . 15 November 2017 . British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. 15 November 2017 . 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..

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