Maori phrasebook
From Wikitravel
Contents
The Maori language is cherished by the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, as a treasure and many pakeha are now trying to learn it. However, although it is an official language of New Zealand, few New Zealanders (and only a minority of Maori) can conduct a conversation in the Maori language (all indigenous Maori speakers are bilingual and understand English just as well).
Still, a number of Maori words have been adopted into New Zealand English, while many place names are Maori words. Being able to correctly pronounce Maori words is a valued skill since incorrectly pronounced Maori sounds like fingernails scratching on a blackboard and will immediately identify you as a visitor to the country. Even a tolerable and halting attempt at the correct pronunciation is better than a poor guess – your effort to get it right will be appreciated and accepted. (Many New Zealanders have trouble with some Maori place names, so you will blend in with the crowd.)
[edit] Pronunciation Guide
The New Zealand Maori language (Maori: Te Reo Maori) is relatively simple to pronounce.
[edit] Vowels
Each of the vowels has a long and short form:
- short a
- a as u in butt
- long a
- ā as a in father
- short e
- e as e in pen
- long e
- ē as ai in pair
- short i
- i as i in bit
- long i
- ī as ee in feet
- short o
- o as o in fort
- long o
- ō as o in store
- short u
- u as u in put
- long u
- ū as oo in boot
[edit] Macron usage
In written Māori, the long vowels are often denoted by macrons (bars over the letters) or whatever similar characters were available to the typesetter. Sometimes the vowel letter is repeated for vowels that are long and hard.
Macrons are not normally used when a Maori word has been adopted into English and they do not generally appear on direction signs or maps.
Thus Māori, Maaori and Maori all represent the
[edit] Consonants
[edit] Syllables
Maori words are broken into syllables at each vowel or Consonant-Vowel pair.
For example:
- Akatarawa
- is said A ka ta ra wa
- Māori
- is said MAOW ree roll your tounge, though Westerners tend to incorrectly pronounce it Maa o ri
- Paraparaumu
- is said Pa ra pa ra u mu
- Petone
- is said Pe to ne
- Whangarei
- is said Wha nga rei
[edit] Semantics
Maori word root combinations tends to have a major root subject followed by qualifier suffixes. This means a literal translation from Maori to English produces a lot of transposed word combinations.
For example:
- Rotorua → roto ⇒ lake and rua ⇒ two = two lakes.
- Kaimoana → kai ⇒ food and moana ⇒ sea = seafood.
[edit] Phrase list
It is unlikely that an ordinary traveler will need to resort to speaking Maori to make themselves understood. However an understanding of Maori words and their meanings will lead to an appreciation of the culture and enhance the travel experience.
- Donation
- Koha
[edit] Greetings
Maori take meetings and greetings seriously. Visitors and honored guests will often be welcomed in a formal ceremony known as a Powhiri. While such ceremonies generally take place on a Marae, it has become accepted practice that such ceremonies may also take place at conferences, important meetings, and similar ceremonial occasions. On such formal occasions, protocol will normally mean that a representative or adviser who can speak Maori will be assigned to the visitors' party to assist and explain what is happening and may formally speak (Whaikoreroe) to introduce the visitors.
- Hello (informal or answering the telephone)
- Kia ora
- Hello (to one person)
- Tēnā koe
- Hello (to two people)
- Tēnā kōrua
- Hello (to a group)
- Tēnā koutou
- Welcome
- Haere mai
- Good-bye (to the person staying)
- E noho rā
- Good-bye (to the person going)
- Haere rā
[edit] Basics
- Please
- koa
- Thank you
- kia ora
- Yes
- ae
- No
- kaore
hello means kia ora
As there is no word for thank you, kia ora is used No is Kahore for the Northland tribe Nga Puhi
[edit] Numbers
- 1
- Tahi (tar-he)
- 2
- Rua (rew-ah)
- 3
- Toru (toh-rew)
- 4
- Wha (far)
- 5
- Rima (ree-ma)
- 6
- Ono (o-noh)
- 7
- Whitu (fee-too)
- 8
- Waru (waah-rew)
- 9
- Iwa (ee-wah)
- 10
- Tekau (teh-ko)
To say numbers higher than then you must say Tekau ma *number*
- 11
- Tekau ma Tahi
- 12
- Tekau ma Rua
- 13
- Tekau ma Toru
- 14
- Tekau ma Wha
- 15
- Tekau ma Rima
- 16
- Tekau ma Ono
- 17
- Tekau ma Whitu
- 18
- Tekau ma Waru
- 19
- Tekau ma Iwa
To say 20,30,40,50 - 90 you must say *number* Tekau E.G. 20 is Rua Tekau and 30 is Toru Tekau
If you want to say any numbers in between you must say *number* Tekau ma *number*
- 21
- Rua Tekau ma Tahi
- 32
- Toru Tekau ma Rua
- 43
- Wha Tekau ma Toru
And so on....
[edit] Glossary of Maori Geographical terms translated into English
- ana
- cave
- awa
- river, channel
- iti
- small
- manga
- stream
- maunga
- mountain
- moana
- sea, lake
- motu
- island
- nui
- big
- one
- beach, sand, soil
- kohatu
- rock
- puke
- hill
- rangi
- sky, heavens
- roa
- long
- roto
- lake
- rua
- two
- tai
- tide, sea
- tapu
- sacred
- te
- the
- toka
- rock
- wai
- water
- whanga
- bay, harbor
- whenua
- land
Many place names have been made tautological by Europeans adding a word which is already contained in the Māori name, e.g. Mount Maunganui = "Mount big mountain". However, in recent years, there has been a trend for New Zealand English speakers to drop the English geographic qualifier and refer to many geographic features by their Māori names alone. Thus Mount Ruapehu is often referred to simply as Ruapehu. In many respects this is an English contraction rather than a reversion to Māori names, as many of the Māori words are followed by a pluralising s where the omitted English geographic term was plural. So the Rimutakas is used in place of the Rimutaka ranges, while the Waikato will normally refer to the the Waikato river although Waikato (without the) would probably refer to the region, though this may need to be inferred from the context.
[edit] Learning more
Maori is taught in many places around New Zealand, often as a night class. Ask at the local information centre or citizens advice bureau. The Maori Language Commission also has a list of course providers.
