Māori language influence on New Zealand English

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 using 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 (one kākāpō, three kākāpō).[5][6][7]

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

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

References
  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. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. Lines-MacKenzie, Jo (13 September 2018). "The use of Māori language accelerating in newspapers". Stuff. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  4. Crewdson, Patrick (11 September 2017). "Why Stuff is introducing macrons for te reo Māori words". Stuff. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. Coppard, Alice; McLay, Geoff; Murray, Christopher; Orpin-Dowell, Johnathan (2018). New Zealand Law Style Guide (3 ed.). Thomson Reuters. ISBN 978-1-98-855315-3. 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. Retrieved 12 May 2020. 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. Retrieved 12 May 2020. Do not italicise Maori words.
  8. Asiata, William Tiʻitiʻi. "Das Kiwitanga". Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  9. "Definition of haka in English". British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 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. "Definition of Pakeha in English". British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 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 from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 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 from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 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. "Definition of Maori in English". British & World English. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 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.

Further reading
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