MAORI PRONUNCIATION
Sir,-And where, may I ask, would the normal man-in-the-street, who has hardly any Maori, find himself when, as suggested by "Ephesus," the radio announcer reverted to the old and perhaps correct pronounciation of Maori placenames? To hear Wairarapa pronounced Wa-i-ra-ra-pa (with a long A) would be extremely baffling. "Ephesus" and other correspondents do not seem to realise that the pronunciation of words, whether from Maori or any other language, changes with common usage, and that it is the pronunciation of the man-in-the-street that counts. I, too, deplore the loss of the musical sounds of the old pronunciation, but I also realise that the announcers are catering largely for a population which wants to understand and not for the ears of the relatively few initiated.
OTAKI: LONG A
(Lower Hutt).
Sir,-I heartily agree with Kia Tika (Ohariu) regarding Maori pronunciation, By all means let us have correct Maori, as well as other languages. If the announcers are not conversant with the Maori language, then it should be necessary for them to take lessons. Radio announcers are not the only offenders. During the filming of the Ne® Zealand gazette recently the commentator re ferred to Pahiatua as Piar-tua, instead of Pa hi-atua. Moari names are simple to pronounce if a little trouble is taken to sound all the vowels.
HORI
(Auckland). |
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19450713.2.13.6
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 316, 13 July 1945, Page 5
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221MAORI PRONUNCIATION New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 316, 13 July 1945, Page 5
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