Maori Language

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 49, 21 June 1929, Page 7

Maori Language

. Lesson in Pronunciation rpm Bishop of Aotearoa proved to be a delightful radio personality when he spoke from 8YA on Wednesday evening, June 12. His talk lasted for twenty minutes, and was the "piece de resistance" in what would in any case have been a splendid programme. In response to a telegram from Hawke’s Bay, he addressed a few remarks to his own people in Maori. The smoothly flowing Native words, perfectly enunciated, came over the air with crystal clarity, and did not justify his humorous apology to his white listeners: "I hope no one is cursing old man Static for what some of you have not understood. I have been greeting my Maori people," he said. The Bishop then called up the Hawke’s Bay Radio Society and Maori friends, reminding everyone of the radio concert which is to be arranged for the purpose of raising funds for installing a receiving set in the Napier Hospital, LESSON to pakehas on Maori pronunciation followed, and thousands of listeners no doubt repeated after him the correct way to pronounce a-e-i-0-U. "We have about eight variations in dialect, throughout New Zealand," said the Bishop, "but when you know one you haven’t much difficulty in understanding the others. The variations in dialect are very much as it is with the English-North Country dialect, Yorkshire, Devon, Cornwall, Zomerzet, and others. It is mainly intonation and a_ few peculiar words. "Here in the South Island the greatest characteristic of their language is the dropping of the ‘ng’ sound com- . mon to all the dialects of the North > Island, and substituting a ‘k’ in its place. For instance, the common term ‘kainga,’ meaning a village or home,’ here in the South is called ‘kaika,’ and. by the pakeha it is contracted into the word ‘kaik." Tangata (a man) is in the South Island dialect ‘takata.’ Tangi (to wail) is here called ‘taki’ They have no ‘ng’ sound at all, This South: Island dialect sounds quite peculiar to those of us of the North. It sounds. rather like a man suffering from a heavy cold in the head. Of course these South Island people are a good deal nearer the South Pole than you are of the North. Probably that accounts for it. They get more colds down here. "May I say just a word about pronunciation. You all know how musical the Maori language is to listen -to. . That is due to the fact that the five vowels-a, e, i, 0, u---have the soft musical sound. If you learn singing you are made to sing the vowels : : A, as a in father. BH, as e in Ted. I, as i in hit. O, as o in obey. U, but u is like the oo sound in boot. "Or if you know Italian or French, or the modern pronunciation of Latin, then you cannot go far wrong if you adopt the same pronunciation. Generally speaking, there is no variation in these vowel sounds, except lengthening or shortening: ariki-a lord, awhirato help.