Monday, December 6, 2010

New Zealand's Language

New Zealand's two official languages are English and Maori. Maori is only used in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world. Despite its official status, the language continues to struggle against being lost.

The funny fact is that English is the first language of about 95% of the population and the only language spoken by 90% of the population. This make New Zealand one of the most monolingual nations in the world.

NEW ZEALANDER'S GRAMMER
People in New Zealand are educated in British English just like Singapore. National newspapers and public documents are written in standard English. However, Maori words have been included in their vocabulary and their language have been influenced by both the Australian and American English.

New Zealanders are often mistaken for Australians when they are overseas. The main difference between the New Zealanders and Australian accent is the short "i" vowel. Australian "fish and chips" sounds like feesh and cheeps to a New Zelander, who pronounce it fush and chups, and "Sydney" sounds like Seedney

MAORI LANGUAGE
It is the first language of some 50 000 adult Maori New Zealanders (12% of Maori's population). The use of the landguage was encouraged through a Maori-language preschool movement and Maori-language immersion primary schools. They teach pupils the entire school curriculum in Maori.

Below is a video that I found which I think is a great start to learning the Maori language.


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