FAQ of Maori Language
A1. Mainly in the North Island of New Zealand, in particular
in the far North, Central & Eastern
areas of the North Island where sizable populations of Maori are found.
There are a number of
speakers of Maori in all the main urban centres of New Zealand.
Q2. Were other languages spoken in New Zealand prior to European colonization?
A2. Before the 1800s Maori was the only language spoken throughout
the North Island and South
Island of New Zealand. However, another separate, yet closely related
language, Moriori, was
spoken in the Chatham Islands to the east of New Zealand [though the
Chatham Islands are now
politically part of New Zealand.
Moriori is now extinct and has not had any native speakers since the
1930s (though the language has been recorded reasonably extensively in
written form).
Q3. How many people speak Maori?
A3. There are varying estimates. A census undertaken in 1996
suggests there are 150,000 speakers
of Maori. However, other research suggests there may be less than 30,000
fluent speakers of Maori. Many of the very fluent speakers of Maori are
likely to be over 50 years old.
Q4. Is Maori related to any other languages?
A4. Yes. Maori is closely related to the language spoken in the
Cook Islands (known as Cook
Islands Maori), Tahitian, and other Polynesian languages spoken in
French Polynesia.
Maori is a member of the East Polynesian branch of the Polynesian Language
group. Polynesian
languages belong to a large language family termed Austronesian.
Q5. How many dialects of Maori are there?
A5. It is difficult to answer this question. Linguists generally
state that there are 3 major dialect
divisions: Eastern North Island, Western North Island, and South Island
Maori (the latter currently
has very few native speakers). Within these divisions there is also
regional variation, and within
regions there is tribal variation. The major differences are in pronunciation
of words, variation of
vocabulary, and idiom. A fluent speaker of Maori has no problem understanding
other dialects of
Maori.
Q6. Has Maori influenced the neighbouring English language?
A6. Yes, there are many words in New Zealand English which have
been copied from Maori. Some
bird and tree terms are only known in English by their Maori names.
Basic Maori greetings and
important Maori cultural terms are known and used by speakers of New
Zealand English.
Q7. Has English influenced the Maori language?
A7. Yes, there are hundreds words in Maori which derive from English.
Q8. Is Maori difficult to learn?
A8. Basic conversational structures in Maori are not difficult
to learn, though, as with all languages,
there are aspects of the structure of the language which require more
effort to learn as familiarity with the language increases. But Maori does
not have the grammatical complexity that we find in some of
languages further afield in the Pacific to which it is related.
Today thousands of people speak Maori as a second language; these are
mainly native speakers of
English.
Q9. Does Maori lack words for abstractions or for modern technology?
A9. Certainly not. Like other languages, Maori has plenty of
words for abstract concepts of all
kinds, and it has word-forming devices for creating new abstract words
at will. Until recently, Maori
did indeed lack a vocabulary for talking about things like physics,
engineering, and linguistics, simply
because nobody had ever wanted to talk about these things in Maori.
Today people do want to talk
about these things in Maori, and so thousands of new words have been
introduced into the language
to make this possible. Most of the new and technical words in Maori
have created by New
Zealand's Maori language commission, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori.
Modern Maori can be used
to speak or write about anything at all. For example, computer science
has been taught at Waikato
University through the medium of Maori, since 1993.
Q10. Is Maori an official language?
A10. Yes. Maori is an official language of New Zealand. New Zealand
citizens can request to be
addressed in Maori in a court of law, and the court is expected to
provide a translator (oddly, the
proceedings will only be recorded in English). Most public services
are available only in English.
Some government departments will provide translations or Maori-speaking
public servants on
request. Key government documents, such as the census and other documents
of concern to Maori
are usually translated into Maori.
Q11. Is Maori gaining or losing ground today?
A11. This is a complicated question. There has been a continual
increase in Maori language
revitalization efforts since the 1960s. Many people have learnt Maori
as a second language through
universities, polytechnics, and other organisations. In 1997 there
are over 12,000 Maori children
enrolled in a Maori language early childhood centre (kohanga reo),
and over 25,000 Maori children
(y1-y12) enrolled in some form of Maori bilingual/immersion education
programme.
There are no reliable data on the Maori language competency of graduates
of Maori
bilingual/immersion programmes and second language learners. It is
unknown whether graduates of
such programmes will continue to speak Maori amongst themselves, to
other speakers of Maori, and whether or not they will speak Maori to their
children.
Q12. What literature exists in Maori?
A12. The first book written in Maori appeared in 1815. The first
Maori language newspaper Te
Karere o Niu Tireni appeared in 1842. Following this there were approximately
39 Maori language
newspapers. Some were Maori owned and operated. Most had a very brief
life. Missionaries began
translating the Bible into Maori in 1814. The Maori Bible, known as
the Paipera Tapu has been
revised a number of times right up to the 1950s. There are also sizable
numbers of of 19th century
Maori language manuscripts held throughout the libraries of New Zealand.
Since the 1960s there has a concerted effort to publish more Maori
language materials. The
publication of Maori language materials has accelerated in the 1990s
due to the demand from
students in Maori-medium education, and those learning Maori as a second
language.
Q13. How is the Maori language written?
A13. Maori is always written in a Roman script. Two digraphs
are used, "ng" represents a velar
nasal, and "wh" which is pronounced like an English /f/ by most tribes.
Vowel length in Maori is
phonemic, i.e. vowels are either pronounced short or long. Early writing
in Maori did not distinguish
vowel length. Some (such as Bruce Biggs) have advocated that the double
vowel orthography be
used to distinguish vowel length. However, the Maori Language Commission
(Te Taura Whiri)
advocate a macron be used to designate a long vowel. The use of the
macron is now wide spread in
modern Maori writings. Computer fonts with macrons are widely used
in New Zealand and readily
available on the Internet.
Q14. How do the Maori refer to themselves, their language, and their country?
A14. The Maori call their language either te reo Maori (the Maori
language) or simply Maori . The
word Maori means common or ordinary. It is said that last century when
foreigners asked Maori
who they were they replied tangata maori which means ordinary people.
The word Maori is now
used to refer to both the Maori people and their language. There is
no word in Maori for a Maori
speaking person or a non-Maori speaking person.
Before European colonization Maori used several different words for
the main islands of New
Zealand. One word for the North Island is Aotearoa. In modern times
Aotearoa is generally used to
refer to the whole of New Zealand. Some people in New Zealand would
like the name New
Zealand to be changed to Aotearoa.
Q15. How is the plural of the word Maori written?
A15. Some people feel there is no need to add a plural suffix
-s when the word
Maori is used in a plural context in written English, i.e., we prefer
to use the word according to rules
of Maori language. Other people in New Zealand follow style guides
or publishing house rules which
insist that the plural suffix -s be added when the word Maori is used
in plural context.