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Thread ID: 143683	2017-03-16 23:45:00	Maori Placenames Pronunciation	Roscoe (6288)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1432923	2017-03-18 02:39:00	Just pronounce it with an H.	prefect (6291)
1432924	2017-03-18 03:31:00	Have you noticed that the TV stations have put themselves up as (so-called) experts at maori placenames pronunciation? But the people who live in these towns don't pronounce it like that.:annoyed: A recent story on TV1 about Matamata is a case in point. The TV people pronounced it Muttumuttu whereas the locals pronounced it Matamata - the "a" pronounced the same as in cat or hat. Surely the correct pronunciation of a town's name is the way that the locals pronounce it? Besides, I would have thought that the people who first wrote down the maori placenames would have written them down as they heard them so if that is the case why did they not write muttumuttu? That must have been because the moaris they heard speaking pronounced it Matamata. And where on earth do you get an F sound from Wh? If the maoris pronounced it that way surely they would have written Ph or F? It seems that the correct way to pronounce maori placenames is as it is written, not the way that the TV stations pronounce them. Totally agree with you Roscoe. The first thing one has to understand is that there are only 15 letters in the Maori Language, not 26 like English. Here they are, for those in a state of shock: :eek: a, e, h, i, k, m, n, ng, o, p, r, t, u, w, wh Now, may I also bring to your attention there is no F’n “F” in the language, so Whanganui and Wanganui and are pronounced as they are spelt, unless you’re a TV Announcer trying to be all PC. (I know this will raise the ire of a few so called experts so I’ve donned my Flak Jacket.) :D The same goes for all the other F’n place names. You also have to remember that the various Tribes (iwi) :rolleyes: pronounced words differently. For instance, the greeting Tēnā koutou is pronounced Tenarkawai if you’re an older Waikato Maori. But the one that used to annoy me the most was that woman that did the weather on one of the TV Channels that pronounced Te Kuiti, Queiti. Darling there is no “Q” in the Maori Language. Unfortunately, the Language has been bastardised by the Media and a few others and is becoming, or become, irrelevant. Better off speaking Swahili, you’ll be able to communicate with a lot more people. ;)	B.M. (505)
1432925	2017-03-18 09:42:00	Always though the "Wh" in maori was enunciated similar to the wh in whet or when.	Whenu (9358)
1432926	2017-03-25 21:39:00	Always though the "Wh" in maori was enunciated similar to the wh in whet or when. Waka-tane vs "Wh" (or "F") - a - tane. Maybe it somewhat unique in Maori language, to have the "Wh" sound like F. Manakau often sounds like Man - a - "Cow" or should it be Mana -ah- kow (rhymes with row), which I think is the inherent maori pronunciation/sound. Maori sounds nice when spoken correctly, say compared to European language, I have heard German (stepfather), Dutch, Samoan, and Danish. They sound robotic, harsh, and guttural...	kahawai chaser (3545)
1432927	2017-03-25 22:32:00	Yes but being Nazi/OCD about pronunciation and spelling is very rude and evidence of a 'power tripping' "small-minded" type personality. The reason for language is to communicate with others successfully, and should not to be used as a means for "brow-beating" others, although I agree that consistency in spelling and pronunciation has merit.	zqwerty (97)
1432928	2017-03-26 00:17:00	Yes but being Nazi/OCD about pronunciation and spelling is very rude and evidence of a 'power tripping' "small-minded" type personality. True. I seen this small mindlessness directly. My German step dad garnered evil looks from our neighborhood - mainly men (around 1972), when he spoke aloud in broken English. Local kids would "Heil-Hitler" him with Nazi salute, when he drove up the street. He got yelled out/pelted with stones at our local beach by some gang, to go back to Hitler land. My Uncles were weary about him - or rather any ties he may have had in East Germany. I know he was ashamed of their country's evil WW2 history, but didn't stop the abuse he got...wherever he was heard in either language he spoke...	kahawai chaser (3545)
1432929	2017-03-26 00:51:00	Better off speaking Swahili, you’ll be able to communicate with a lot more people. ;) Quite agree. You can't speak maori anywhere but in NZ - and that's only a small amount of the population and a small amount of maori - whereas English and many European languages are spoken all over the world. As B.M. says, you'll be able to communicate with a lot more people, and surely that would be one of the main reasons for learning another tongue.	Roscoe (6288)
1432930	2017-03-26 02:58:00	Te Kuiti, Queiti. Darling there is no “Q” in the Maori Language. Unfortunately, the Language has been bastardised by the Media and a few others and is becoming, or become, irrelevant. ) I don't know. I think some of it is our kiwi accent. It's not that we say queiti, we do say KU eti...but our accent slurs it. It's not just maori, it's english too. No doubt the maori language changed too....the new kids after they moved to NZ, speaking a different way to the proper ones back home (where=ever that was) and so on.	pctek (84)
1432931	2017-03-26 03:06:00	Quite agree. You can't speak maori anywhere but in NZ - and that's only a small amount of the population and a small amount of maori - whereas English and many European languages are spoken all over the world. As B.M. says, you'll be able to communicate with a lot more people, and surely that would be one of the main reasons for learning another tongue. True - I think colonized countries/territories may have ended up speaking languages (or a hybrid) of their suppressors. Funny though, I think many have learnt - including Kiwi's to speak those languages from such countries - notably learning Chinese, German, and Japanese.	kahawai chaser (3545)
1432932	2017-03-26 05:28:00	My home town Motueka we pronounced it Motu acre, not sure how the blacks pronounce it now.	prefect (6291)
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