Monday, October 26, 2009

New Zealand English

Much of what has been said of Australia applies also to New Zealand. Like the accents, the dialects of the two countries are similar. (To distinguish the accents, listen for the pronunciation of words like big and widow. Australians pronounce the vowel as a short version of the vowel sound in keep; New Zealanders use a short sound more akin to that in hut).
The strongest influence on the English of New Zealand has been that of Australia, which is where many of the earliest settlers came from. New Zealand shares with Australia usages that differ from those in Standard English, such as station and theatre. It also shares much of its colloquial vocabulary: buldger, crook, lolly, and to rubbish. But cobber and fair dinkum would sound like deliberate Australianisms in New Zealand.
A number of Maori and Polynesian words have come into Standard English through New Zealand. Maori itself comes from a word meaning ‘ordinary’. The word Pakeha (pronounced/ Paaki-haa/), used for white population, appears to be of Maori origin. Maori loans include the names of local birds (kiwi, moa, takahe) and plants (kauri, rata, tutu).
The word mana was used in Melanesian, Polynesian, and Maori, and meant the mysterious power inherent in any god or sacred object. It was adopted by historians of religion to describe this kind of aura wherever it occurs. People now use it more generally to mean any kind of authority, charisma, prestige, or influence.
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