
New Zealand English is the dialect of English language spoken in New Zealand, occasionally referred to within New Zealand as ''Newzild''. New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside these countries. Some of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English English than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Maori language. The most striking difference from Australian English (and other forms of English) is the ''flattened i'' of New Zealand English. ==Spelling== Possibly the most significant difference between New Zealand and British spelling is in the ending "-ise" or "-ize". Britons may use either ending (although "-ise" is by far the more popular), and some British dictionaries and style manuals prefer the "-ize" ending. New Zealanders tend to use the "-ise" ending exclusively. A peculiarity of New Zealand English is that the spelling "fiord" is preferred over the spelling "fjord" used in most of the English-speaking world. This spelling can be found in the name of the Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. Where there is a distinct difference between British and US spelling (such as words like colour/color and travelled/traveled), the British spelling is universally found in New Zealand. New Zealand English sticks very closely to British English in spelling - even more so than does Australian English. Some Americanisms have begun to creep into the country through their exposure in mass media (such as "thru" for "through"), though these spellings are frowned upon and are definitely regarded as non-standard. Mass media exposure (through early childhood programmes such as ''Sesame Street'') has also led to more acceptance of the term "zee" for the last letter of the alphabet, but "zed" is still seen as standard. ==Māori influence== Many local everyday words are not English at all, being traditional Maori language names for local flora (plants), fauna (animals), and the natural environment, and some other Māori words have made their way into the vernacular. The dominant influence of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) upon New Zealand English is lexical. An 1999 estimate based on the Wellington corpora of written and spoken New Zealand English put the proportion of words of Māori origin at approximately 0.6%; mostly place and personal names. The use of Māori words is increasing, particularly in the North Island, although there are regional variations. For instance, in most of the country the native wood pigeon is called "kereru", but in Northland Region it is called "kukupa" and sometime "kuku", and on the Chatham Islands the "parea". "Kia ora" literally means "be healthy" but it has also become a standard term of greeting, meaning "hello" or "welcome". It also signifies agreement with a speaker at a meeting. Other Māori greetings, "Tena koe" {one person} or "Tena koutou" {three or more people} are also widely used. Similarly the phrase for goodbye, "Haere Ra", which may also be the origin of the once much widely used NZ phrase for goodbye "Hooray". The Maori phrase "kia kaha", literally "be strong", is also frequently encountered as an indication of moral support for someone starting a stressful undertaking or otherwise in a difficult situation. Greeting someone on a cold morning is sometimes expressed as "Makariri ne?", (cold isn't it?). This phrase may have spawned the bastard Māori-English word "maka-chilly" which probably started as a joke and is not widely used. The slang word "buggered" is often equated with the Māori word for "broken", "Pakaru", and is synonymous with "Pakarued". Some hybrid words, part English and part Maori, have developed, the most common of which is probably ''half-pai'' (often written ''half-pie''), meaning incomplete or or substandard quality (''pai'' being the Maori word for "good"). Similarly, the Maori word ending ''-tanga'', which has a similar meaning to the English ending ''-ness'', is occasionally used in hybrid terms such as ''kiwitanga'' (i.e., the state of being a New Zealander). Intriguingly, several Maori words are used in English as lighthearted, or even slang, equivalents of their more common English counterparts. The term ''puku'' for stomach, for example, is more likely to be encountered during a friendly chat than in more formal circumstances. The common Maori sentence ending ''ne'' (meaning literally ''isn't it?'') is thought to possibly be responsible for the exclamational and/or interrogative use of "eh!" at the end of sentences in New Zealand English (as noted below). Evidence supporting this suggestion is the increased prevalence of the usage of ''eh'' in areas with a higher proportion of Maori population. It is thus a far more common usage in South Auckland, for instance, than in rural Canterbury. ===Vocabulary=== Examples of centuries old Maori language names for native birds are the kiwi, kea, kakapo, Tui (bird) and pukeko, the extinct moa, and the kotuku or white heron. There are also fish such as hoki, kahawai, tarakihi or terakihi and mako shark, and shellfish like toheroa and paua. Most of the List of trees of New Zealand also have Māori names such as the kauri, Dacrydium cupressinum, podocarpus totara, kowhai, matagouri and pohutukawa. Other vegetation with Māori names includes the kumara, a type of sweet potato. The word ''Kiwi (disambiguation)'' has acquired other meanings, most commonly as an Kiwi (people), or as an adjective instead of ''New Zealand''. The use of ''kiwi'' to refer to kiwifruit is not part of New Zealand English. Many Māori words or phrases that describe Culture of the Maori have become part of New Zealand English. Some of these are: * haka: a chant and (war) dance of challenge, popularised by the All Blacks rugby football team, who perform it before the game in front of the opposition * hangi: a method of cooking food in a pit; or the occasion at which food is cooked this way (compare the Hawaiian use of the word luau) * Hui (Maori assembly): a meeting; increasingly being used by New Zealand media to describe business meetings relating to Māori affairs * Iwi: tribe, or peoples * kia ora: hello, and indicating agreement with a speaker (literally 'be healthy') * kohanga reo: Māori language pre-school (literally 'language nest') * Mana: reputation—a combination of authority, integrity, power and prestige * Maoritanga: the sum of all Maori culture and existence. "Maori-ness". * marae: ceremonial meeting area in front of the meeting house; or, the entire complex surrounding this, including eating and sleeping areas * pakeha: people of non-Māori origin, especially those of European origin * puku: belly, usually a big one * whanau: extended family Other Māori words may be recognised by most New Zealanders, but generally not used in everyday speech: * aroha: love, affection * haere mai: welcome, come here * haere ra: goodbye to one who is leaving * hapu: subtribe; or, pregnant * hongi: traditional Maori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses * ka pai: good; well done * kai: food * kapa haka: cultural gathering involving dance competitions * kia kaha: literally 'be strong'; roughly "be of good heart, we are supporting you" * koha: gift * korero: to chat; to speak in Māori * mauri: spirituality * tangi: to mourn; or, a funeral at a marae * taniwha: mythical water monster * tapu: sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; probably borrowed from Tongan tabu * te reo: the Māori language (literally, the language) * tohunga: priest, shaman * turangawaewae: one's own turf, "a place to stand" - also the name of the Turangawaewae * wairua: spirit * whakapapa: genealogy, to discuss family history New Zealanders also refer to Māori people, in the plural as Māori, not as 'Māoris', and this is often pronounced as 'maw-rri' with a trilled 'r'. Note that the term "mauri" above could easily be confused with this, however (it is correctly pronounced 'moh-rri', again with a trilled 'r'). ===Pronunciation of Māori place names=== Many Māori place names suffered from a fairly ungainly anglicisation for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, but since the 1980s increased consciousness of te reo Māori has led to a shift back to correct pronunciations. The anglicisations have persisted most among natives of the towns in question, so it has become something of a shibboleth, with correct pronunciation marking someone as non-local. Examples *Paraparaumu - ''para-pram'' *Pauatahanui - ''part-a-noo-ee'' *Oakura - ''okra'' *Hawera - ''hara'' *Te Awamutu - ''tee-a-moot'' *Waikouaiti - ''wacker-wite'' or ''weka-what'' To further confuse matters, many southern Maori words, which have a distinctive pronunciation that differs from standard Maori, are frequently mistaken for anglicisations and "corrected". These include the pronunciation of Oamaru as ''Om-a-roo'' and of Kawarau as ''Ka-warra''. A mixture of southern Maori speech patterns and anglicisation leads to a third trend, the removal of the final vowel of place names, or the reduction of final vowels to a schwa. This is particularly common in the southern South Island. This pattern also results in local shibboleths, and result in such pronunciations as Lake Wakatipu being referred to as ''Wakatip'', and Otago being pronounced ''o-taag-uh''. ==Unique New Zealand English vocabulary== There are also many non-Māori words that are unique to New Zealand English, or shared with Australia. * arvo afternoon * bach a small holiday home, usually near the beach, often with only one or two rooms and of simple construction. Pronounced "batch". * brekkie breakfast * cher bro ''pronounced chair'' usually a strong voicing of thanks but also a parting salutation. Shortened from "cheers brother" although can be said to either male or female. Common in South and West Auckland. * chip, punnet or pottle, depending on the region, the unit by which strawberry and certain other fruit are sold. Pottle is also a standard term for containers of yoghurt. * chips "cold chips" as in US "chips" and UK "crisps", and "hot chips" US "french fries" and UK "chips". * chippie, a carpenter (same as the nickname in the UK), or a fish and chip shop. * choice!, excellent! Great idea! * crib, another word for bach, more commonly used in the south of the South Island. * The Ditch, the Tasman Sea, the "ditch" separating New Zealand and Australia. Occasionally also means the Cook Strait between the two main islands of the country. * domain, as well as its common overseas uses can mean a public park, especially a small flat grassed area within urban surroundings (from demesne: any estate in land). * eh!, used for emphasis at the end of a sentence, eh! (see note above on Māori influence. A similar but not identical usage is found in Canadian English). * flatting, sharing a flat (apartment or rented house). * footpath, pavement or sidewalk, shared by many countries outside US. * footy, football (usually Rugby Union or Rugby League, rarely soccer). * freezing works, a meat-packing plant, an abattoir. * '''G'day/ Gidday, standard New Zealand greeting (\"good day\"). * good as gold, great, just right. Often shortened to good as (see also \"sweet as\", below). * flash cool * Jafa, a derogatory description of Auckland used by non-Aucklanders. * Mainland. Usually, but not always, refers (sometimes mildly humorously) to the South Island, which, despite its much smaller population, is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand. * OE or Big OE, Overseas Experience, time spent travelling and working overseas, usually in Europe. * onya, short for \"Good On Yer\" (You). * pants, as in US \"pants\", much more common than UK \"trousers\". * Pavlova, favourite meringue-like dessert made from egg whites, frequently served with cream and kiwifruit. Often shortened to pav. * pom, British person, usually English (mildly derogatory). * Queen Street farmer, a usually pejorative term for an investor in rural land with no knowledge of land use. * Remuera tractor''', a usually pejorative term for a SUV (compare ''Queen Street farmer'', above). * scarfie, a university student, particularly one at the University of Otago. * smoko, rest break during work (especially as smoking is totally banned in public/workplaces). * super, old age pension scheme (from superannuation). * sweet as, fine with me (see also "Good as gold", above) * togs, swimming costume. * varsity in New Zealand refers to the university itself, not to a sports team. * WOF/Warrant, (Warrant Of Fitness), vehicle roadworthiness test, similar to British MOT test and the Australian Roadworthy Certificate, except that it is required 6-monthly for older vehicles. ===Unique phrases=== It is in metaphorical phrases that NZ English has made most progress or divergence. Often they reflect significant differences in culture, for example: ''Ladies, a plate'' is often seen as part of the advertisement for social functions. It means that the function is self catering; people attending are meant to bring a plate-full of food. Many new arrivals in New Zealand have mistaken this and turned up with an empty plate, but only once. ''Up the Puhoi without a paddle'' meaning to be in difficulties without an obvious solution. The Puhoi is a river just north of Auckland. Over the years the phrase has evolved and is now often heard as "Up the Boohai without a paddle". It is also sometimes attributed to other New Zealand rivers. It will be interesting if the phrase can withstand competition from the modern and very colourful variant "Up shit creek without a paddle". A variant of the latter is ''up the boohai shooting pukeko with a long-handled shovel'', meaning a fictitious place. ''Waikikamukau'' ("''Why-kick-a-moo-cow''") is also often used to represent a fictitious place, particularly as a sparsely populated rural area in the "back of beyond", and is a pun on the sound of many Māori placenames. Similar, but very rarely used now is Erewhon, the title of a book by 19th century novelist Samuel Butler. It is of course (nearly) the word "nowhere" backwards, and has an almost Māori appearance except that it does not end with a vowel. Although rarely heard in common parlance, a number of places have been anmed Erewhon, i.e. Erewhon Tce and Erewhon Park in Christchurch, and also Mountain bike tracks. ''Wide enough for an Ox team to do a U-ie'' —Said of very wide roads. ''Sticky Beak'' meaning someone unduly curious about other people's affairs, a nosey parker. Sticky beak is used in both New Zealand and Australia with the same meaning but slightly different emphasis. In Australia "sticky beak" is quite pejorative, to be called sticky beak is definitely a criticism, whereas in New Zealand it is used with more affection, it is often used as a tease. ''Box of Birds'' or even more colloqially "Box of Fluffies" or "Box of Fluffy Ducks" meaning to feel very good, chirping even. "How are you feeling?" "Oh, a Box of Birds" ''Rattle yer Dags'' an instruction to hurry up. Sheep running through gates and yards often make a curious rattling noise caused by their 'dags' (dried faeces on wool about their hind-quarters) clattering together. Similarly "He's a bit of a Dag" describes someone as a comedian. The word "dag" possibly derives from the regional English word, "daglock" (Middle English ''dagge'') meaning the same thing. See also Fred Dagg, Footrot Flats. ''The Half Gallon Quarter Acre Pavlova Paradise'' was an affectionate term for NZ back in the 1970s. It was originally the title of a book written by expatriate Austin Mitchell. ''No wucking furries'' is a deliberate spoonerism to moderate the phrase, "no fucking worries". Both mean "no problem", often given as a response to accepting a task asked of one. == Differences from British English == :''Main article: phonemic differentiation.'' ===Flattened 'i'=== The most noticeable difference in pronunciation is probably the flat "i", so that "six" is pronounced in a way sounding like "sucks". This is a part of the vowel shift that has occurred in New Zealand. Below, the latter word is how the former word sounds to the ears of a non-New Zealander: *pan → pen *pen → pin *pin → pun *peek → peck Note that many of the differences listed below are avoided by New Zealanders speaking "properly", as in public speaking for example, in which case the main differences are the shifted vowel sounds listed here. === Additional Schwa === Typically, a New Zealander will insert the schwa to words such as ''grown'', ''thrown'' and ''mown'', resulting in ''grow-en'', ''throw-en'' and ''mo-wen''. However, ''groan'', ''throne'' and ''moan'' are all unaffected meaning these word pairs can be distinguished by ear, unlike in British English. This has also been seen (rarely) in the pronunciation of the word ''three'', where the schwa appears between the 'th' and the 'r', creating a two-syllable word. ===Distinction between and === In thicker New Zealand accents, words like "chair" and "cheer", (, )are pronounced the same way (, i.e. as "cheer" in British, American or Australian English). The same occurs with "share" and "shear" (both pronounced ), bear and beer, spare and spear. This pronunciation is not universal, many New Zealanders do in fact distinguish these words (International Phonetic Alphabet used for phonetic transcriptions).
Younger speakers tend to merge toward , while middle-aged speakers tend to merge toward . This merging has been seen in some other varieties of English, but notably not in Australian English. ===Lack of distinction between and === There is a tendency for some words in New Zealand English to be pronounced with rather than the found in Southern British English, especially in those cases where the vowel with this particular sound is a stressed "A". Thus words like "warrior" and "worrier" are harder to differentiate in New Zealand English than in many forms of English. ===Rising Inflection=== New Zealanders will often reply to a question with a statement spoken with a rising inflection on the last couple of words (known in linguistics as a high rising terminal). This often has the effect of making their statement sound like another question. There is enough awareness of this that it is seen in exaggerated form in comedy parody of working class/uneducated new Zealanders. ===Use of 'She' as third person neuter=== New Zealanders, in informal speech, will often use the third person feminine ''she'' in place of the third person neuter ''it'' as the subject of a sentence, especially when the subject is the first word of the sentence. Thus phrases such as "She's a beaut day" (i.e., It's a beautiful day) are not uncommon. The most common use of this is in the phrase "She'll be right" meaning either "It will be OK" or "It is close enough to what is required". == Differences from Australian English == Although foreigners can find it hard to distinguish the New Zealand dialect from the Australian, there are differences in the pronunciation of vowel sounds, which are considerably more clipped in New Zealand English. (Canada face a similar problem, frequently being mistaken for U.S. Americans by non-North Americans.) The main distinguishing sounds are the short 'i' and 'e', as well as words like "chance", as described below. === Short 'i' === The short 'i' in New Zealand English is pronounced as a schwa . In Australian English, the short 'u' is often thought to be the vowel closest to the New Zealand pronunciation. So Australians frequently joke about New Zealanders having "fush and chups" instead of "fish and chips". However, it is really closer to an almost dropped vowel, so it's more like "f'sh and ch'ps". Conversely, the closest sound in New Zealand English to the Australian short 'i' is 'ee' , so New Zealanders may hear Australians talking about the "Sydney Harbour Bridge". Recent linguistics research has suggested that this trait comes from dialects of English spoken by lower-class England people in the late 19th century, though why it persisted in New Zealand while disappearing from Australia is not known. It is, however, also encountered in Scottish English, and given the relatively higher level of Scottish emigration to New Zealand than Australia, this may also be an influence. === Short 'e' === The short 'e' in New Zealand English has moved to fill in the space left by 'i', and sounds like a short 'i' itself to other English speakers. For example, you may hear New Zealanders talk about having "iggs for brickfast". === Chance, dance, etc. === The New Zealand pronunciation of words like "dance" uses the same vowel sound as the "a" in "car", in other words , resembling the broad A of British English. The common Australian pronunciation rhymes with "ants": . However, either form may be used in Australia, with the former usually used in South Australia (and almost universal in Adelaide), and common in New South Wales. ===More/sure=== "More" and "sure" are pronounced ''mua'' and ''shua'', whereas in Australia they would be pronounced as ''maw'' and ''shaw''. ===Schwa in unstressed syllables=== New Zealanders tend to be more likely to turn a vowel in an unstressed syllable into a schwa, although this is far from a universal trait. A clear example of this trait, however, is shown in the pronunciation of Australia's state of ''Queensland'', which in IPA terms would be to a New Zealander (rhyming with "seasoned"), but to an Australian (rhyming with "freehand"). This difference seems analogous in some ways to attempts by speakers not familiar with British place names to fully pronounce the -shire endings of county names. ===Letter 'h'=== Pronunciation of the name of the letter 'h' is , as in Great Britain and North America, as opposed to the aspirated , found in Australian English, in turn of Hiberno-English origin. (This refers only to the pronunciation of the letter's name, not to the pronunciation of words beginning with that letter.) ===Letter 'l'=== Pronunciation of the letter 'l' at the end of a word such as kill, is sometimes voiced as a 'w'. This is further found in provincial cities and towns. Some speakers will not differentiate the sound of the word 'bill' from 'bull', and both will have the final 'l' sound changed to a 'w'. Even words such as 'build' will be affected and will sound like 'buwd'. A common use of this is the word 'milk' usually said 'muwk' (rhyming with 'sulk' to a speaker outside of New Zealand). Although this varies greatly in different areas and between different socio-economic groups within New Zealand itself. This seems to be most commonly found in the southern suburbs of Auckland City. === Vocabulary differences === Other differences in the dialects relate to words used to refer to common items, often based on major brands: {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- !NZ !Australia !Explanation |- |jandals || thongs || backless sandals (or flip-flops in other English dialects) |- |chilly bin || Esky|| insulated container for keeping drinks and food cool |- |Swanndri || Driza-Bone || The quintessential back-country farmer's jacket of each country, a woollen shirt and oilskin jacket respectively. |- |dairy || milk bar
delicatessen || A kind of convenience store |- |duvet || doona || A padded blanket |} In New Zealand, the word "milk bar" refers only to the milk bar of the 1950s and 1960s, a place that served non-alcoholic drinks, primarily milkshakes, tea and sometimes coffee. Ice creams were also served. == Dialects within New Zealand English == Most Kiwis speak ''Newzild'' "as she is spoke": geographical variations appear slight, and mainly confined to individual special local words. One group of speakers, however, hold a recognised place as "talking differently": the South of the South Island (''Murihiku'') harbours a "Celtic fringe" of people speaking with a "Southland, New Zealand burr" in which a trilled 'r' appears prominently. This dialect is also rhotic; that is, speakers pronounce the 'r' in "bird", "work", etc. while other New Zealanders do not. This southern area formed a traditional repository of immigration from Scotland. Several words and phrases common in Scots language or Scottish English still persist in this area as well. Some examples of this include the use of ''wee'' to mean "small", and phrases such as ''to do the messages'' meaning "to go shopping". Many of the region's place names also reflect their Scottish origin, such as those of the region's two main cities (Invercargill and Dunedin) which both have Scots Gaelic origins. The trilled 'r' is also used by some Māori, who may also pronounce 't' and 'k' sounds almost as 'd' and 'g', especially in the south of the country (see Maori language for more details). This is also encountered in South African English, especially among Afrikaans speakers. The Maori 'r', though, is more like a short 'd'. == Dictionaries of New Zealand English == The first comprehensive dictionary dedicated to the species of English spoken in New Zealand was probably the ''Heinemann New Zealand dictionary'', published in 1979. This work, edited by Harry Orsman, was a comprehensive 1300 page book covering English as spoken in new Zealand, with information relating to the usage and pronunciation of terms that were both widely accepted throughout the English-speaking world and those peculiar to New Zealand. The book included a one page list of the approximate date of entry into common parlance of many terms found in New Zealand English but not found elsewhere, such as "haka" (1827), "Boohai" (1920), and "bach" (1905). In 1998, Oxford University Press produced a ''Dictionary of New Zealand English'' that it claimed was based on over 40 years of research. This research started with Orsman's 1951 thesis and continued with his publishing this dictionary as the editor. To assist with and maintain this work, the New Zealand Dictionary Centre was founded in 1997. A more light-hearted look at English as spoken in New Zealand, ''A personal Kiwi-Yankee dictionary'', was written by American-born Otago University psychology lecturer Louis Leland in 1980. This slim but entertaining volume lists many of the potentially confusing and/or misleading terms for Americans visiting or migrating to New Zealand. A second edition was published during the 1990s. == See also == * New Zealand humour * Australian English == Further reading == *''Dictionary of New Zealand English'' (1998). Oxford University Press. *Grant, L.E., and Devlin, G.A. (eds.) (1999). ''In other words: A dictionary of expressions used in New Zealand''. Palmerston North, NZ: Dunmore Press. *Leland, Louis S., jr. (1980). ''A personal Kiwi-Yankee dictionary''. Dunedin, NZ: John McIndoe Ltd. *Orsman, H. W., (ed.) (1979). ''Heinemann New Zealand dictionary''. Auckland, NZ: Heinemann Educational Books (NZ) Ltd. == External links == * [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwlingui/NZEnglish/origins.html Origins of New Zealand English] * [http://www.oup.com.au/content/General.asp?ContentID=96&MasterID=48 New Zealand Dictionary Centre] * [http://www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwi.htm Kiwi Words & Phrases] English dialects Languages of New Zealand New Zealand culture zh-cn:新西兰英语
===Possible copyright violation=== Take a look at this page: http://new-zealand.asinah.net/en/wikipedia/n/ne/new_zealand_english.html This article seems to have started as a copy of the page linked above. That's bad because the page in question includes this text: "Copyright 1995 - 2004 United Dragon Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved." We're not talking about the same ideas. We're talking about paragraphs word for word, even including links. Maybe the non-Wiki site stole our content? Or are we using it in violation of their rights? :If you look closely at the small text at the bottom of the page, you will see "All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.This article courtesy of Wikipedia.org" --They are copying from us, not vice versa. Their copyright is somewhat misleading, as the most they can claim copyright for is the layout and web design.User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:43, 11 May 2004 (UTC) :FWIW, the site was already listed on Wikipedia:Copies_of_Wikipedia_content_(medium_degree_of_compliance)#Asinah.net. I added a few comments, as some of the info did not seem to apply anymore. User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:58, 11 May 2004 (UTC) ---- However, this American is going to remain unconvinced until you lazy .au and .nz sods get off your duffs and document them here. : or even Australian and New Zealander... the extra typing won't cost you any more... :S Most Australians can pick the Texan, Californian, New York Jewish, and New York Ebonics accents (for instance) by ear. The differences between Australian and New Zealand English accents aren't any less extensive. The problem, I think, is that most Americans have not heard too much of the New Zealand accent. The main difference between Australian and New Zealand English is the presence in New Zealand English of stressed schwa, which doesn't appear in most other accents of English. Australian English has a lax front close vowel instead, that of the British English "pin". User:pfnewman :OK, smartarse (or smartass, if you can't cope with alternate spellings), I've made a start . . . Seriously, though, it's not that hard to pick. It's as least as distinctive as, say, Californian and New York accents. --User:Robert Merkel I think people have done a good job on this page. I would add some borrowed Maori words myself but it is a bit of challenge for a Brit to turn a list of borrowed words from a page like [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwlingui/NZEnglish/origins.html this] into something that does not invalidate the author's copyright. -- Artistole I've added a description of the pronunciation of "dance". Someone should check whether my description matches the samples I've uploaded to "Pronunciation" at http://briefcase.yahoo.com/careyevans/. --User:Carey Evans There's lots more material here now. Still to add is some mention of non-Maori New Zealand words, like bach and crib, though this is more difficult for me since I don't have the perspective to know which are actually unique to NZ. If someone adds the words, I'll define them. --User:Carey Evans 'Port' is only used for schoolbag in some Australian states (e.g. I think Queensland.) In NSW and Victoria (Hey! -and Tassie!!! - MB) (and W.A. - User:Mark Ryan) people say schoolbag, same as Kiwis do. -- User:SJK ---- Taken this from list of words unique to NZ and australia, since it's also used in Britain -- AdamW mate: Buddy or pal, the same as Australian English. ---- An anonymous user writes: :This is incorrect - the sound is much better represented as "darnce". I'm not so sure about this; some dialects of English would roll that R, and NZers hardly even pronouce R's when they ''are'' there. OTOH, I don't think I pronounce "pasta" properly, either. I'll try again with "car", which most pages seem to use for that vowel sound. --user:Carey Evans, 2002-02-03 "Taught properly" indeed! ''Chance'' vs ''charnce'' is optional in Australian English. ''Charnce'' is used by nearly all South Australians, most denizens of Toorak and Vaucluse and Paddington, and a good smattering of others from all over, NSW in particular. Rough guess: 70% of Australians say "chance". Yes, and some of us even had educations! Oh, and one more difference in usage to list: ''dairy'' vs ''milk bar''. It's interesting to see how many words Oz and Kiwi English have in common - more than I'd have thought until I stopped to ponder and read the examples in this and a couple of related entries. It's not so surprising that words like ''bush'' have made the trans-Tasman journey, but it ''is'' surprising to realise how many Maori words are quite familiar to this Aussie boy. User:Tannin :I've made some changes to the "chance" section; please make any more changes you feel are necessary. I'll have to think about how to add dairy vs. milk bar - how does it relate to the existing entry? In NZ, the word means what the existing article talks about, but is reminiscent of the '60s. -- User:Carey Evans : My apologies. That comment of mine about chanve vs crarnce was largely tongue in cheek. Still I think your revision is an improvement just the same. User:Tannin == New Zealand English usage == Can somebody tell me the origins of 2 specific usages:- [1]....many Kiwis, especially in the rural sector, will nearly always answer a question with a contradiction, e.g. [Q]"do you think this horse is a good bet?" [A]...yeah, no...she's a good bet" Why say "Yes" immediately followed by a "No". [2]....many Kiwis ask a question twice, e.g. "..are you going to the City, are you?" Why say "are you" twice? thanks :Meaning 'Yes', I acknowledge your queastion, I am considering it .... and the answer is 'No' :This usage appeared about five years ago among the yuppies and has since spread thoughout the country, urban and rural areas equally. However I am not sure that it is a New Zealand phenomenom; is it not also used in other English speaking countries. Personally I find it rather irritating and hope it proves to be ephemeral. :With regard to your second question. I have not noticed that at all in quite that form. However questions are often finished with 'eh?' :"".. are you going to the city, eh?" :I think the 'eh" is a sort of verbal question mark with the same function as "ka" in Japanese. :Hope that helps you User:Ping 09:12, 11 Jan 2004 (UTC) ::When I heard someone say that NZers were the only people who said "Yeah, no", I immediately thought, "What a load of rubbish. We don't say that." Then I thought about a bit more and realised, "Yeah, nah, we do!" And not only in response to a question. However, I have heard non-NZers do it too, so it's not just us. I don't know why I say it. It might be related to "No, that's right"! User:Nurg 10:30, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC) With regard to the second of the two questions earlier, I point out that the question is not "''are you going to the city, eh?''" but "'''''you're''' going the city, eh?''", though in context the ''you're'' can be omitted (thus "''going to the city, eh?''"). The "eh?" is never pronounced with a rise of pitch towards the end, it is only used for confirmation. The question isn't asked twice. Compare: *the movie was awesome, wasn't it? *the movie was awesome, eh? That is the usage of "eh?". User:Neonumbers Are NZers the only people to use "no..yeah?" Maybe they are ''in English'', but the Germans use it also nicht ja? Very much doubt there's any connection, though. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 07:29, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Kiwifruit== So what do New Zealanders/Kiwis call the kiwifruit? China gooseberry? User:Jengod 08:01, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) kiwifruit of course, after all we invented them. User:Ping 08:05, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC) Wait. I must be dumb. Is this part of the article a joke on ignorant merkins?: "The use of kiwi to refer to kiwifruit is not part of New Zealand English and will irritate many New Zealanders." :They call it the 'kiwifruit', but never a 'kiwi'. User:Morwen 08:13, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) ::Aha. It all becomes clear. :) Thanks NZ & Goodnight. User:Jengod 08:15, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) Oh, and New Zealanders don't call New Zealanders Kiwis very often either. It's mostly a term used by ads, television anchors, and friendly foreigners. User:Ben Arnold 13:37, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC) :Yeah right. ==Sou' Wester== The page likens Swanndri (NZ) to Driza-Bone (Oz), saying they are the quintessential back-country farmer's jacket of each country, a woollen shirt and oilskin jacket respectively. The Sou' Wester oilskin coat in NZ is the same as the Driza-Bone, not the Swanndri. Sou' Westers are still widely used, especially on horseback . User:Moriori 22:42, Jan 26, 2004 (UTC) What about the "Affco Nightie'? Is it widespread enough to be worth a mention? User:Ping 08:24, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC) :The ''what''? ==Milkbar== What the hell is a "milkbar" supposed to be, in Australia? Is it a dairy?User:Lacrimosus 02:56, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC) ==Use of Kia ora== I deleted the last sentence from: ""Kia Ora", literally "be healthy", is now a standard New Zealand greeting. In Māori situations it is often used after someone has spoken meaning "Have you got that?" or possibly "Do you agree with me?" but this has not extended to general use." It ''is'' used by ''listeners'' to acknowledge or support a speaker in Maori situations. Actually I'm not sure it's a standard New Zealand greeting either given the current kerfuffle over its use on the tv news. User:Nurg 11:13, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC) :Firstly, yes it ''IS'' widely "used by ''listeners'' to acknowledge or support a speaker", and not only in "Maori situations". Do you want to add that to the article? Secondly Nurg, it is indeed a standard greeting in New Zealand, and I venture to say that tourists hear that particular phrase, and remember it, more thay any other specific term of greeting. You want to include that too? ::Yeah, absolutely. I heard Kia ora throughout my visit to NZ, and not only in touristy situations. User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 18:15, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC) ==Milk/Mulk== Put in a little bit about this phenomenon of the 'l' changing to a 'w' and also the 'i' or 'iu' becoming a 'u' sound as in build (buwd). Don't know how common it is in New Zealand other than Auckland mainly with the younger generation although not limited to and usually only people in south Aucks. Although it's little rough and not using correct terminology.--User:Hekaz 11:18, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) == NZ English vs. Australian English == New Zealand English close to Australian English?? Really? They're completely different, or does it just sound like that to me because I'm a New Zealander? User:Neonumbers 09:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) The sound different to me also but Northern Hemisphere English speakers insist that they sound very similar. I guess we have to learn to live with that. User:Ping 07:14, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC) :Yeah, no, it just sounds like that because you're a New Zealander. You'd feel the same way, though, if you were an Aussie like me. The only true answer is that you're both right and wrong at the same time. AusE and NZE are completely different to each other, this is true. :However, when compared to other dialects the similarities are obvious. This is true not only even they're compared to Northern Hemisphere English but also to South African English. :To use a analogy, compare a tuatara to a goanna. They're completely different, right. Then compare these two to a springbok, a bulldog, a salmon and an eagle. You see what I'm getting at. - Jim ==Maori pronunciation== I've removed Kawarau River's ''ka-worra'' pronunciation from this list, because it isn't a false anglicised pronunciation - it's a southern Maori dialect pronunciation. The spelling with the final "u" resulted from it being written down by Scots - it probably should have been spelt ''Kawara''. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness :There's still a distinctly non-maori sound to the very short o (hot) that you hear in ''kaworra'' down that way. User:dramatic 08:42, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) That's part of the southern dialect - compare the one in the (real) pronunciation of Oamaru. Remember the Scots also misheard "Kirimoko" as "Kilmog", again with the "hot" O. Compare also Hokitika's pronunciation. The O can be short in Southern Maori. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:48, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Vocabulary== h2g2 has quite an extensive list at [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A521191] - could be a basis for a few extra entries in our list. User:Dramatic 08:42, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Organisation of article== I can't help but wondering if the sections in this article are the right way round. An article on NZ english starts with a detailed discussion of Maori, then goes into Maori influence (which is what the previous sections were about). I'd keep the Maori section near the top, and would also split the first section (i.e., the introductory four paragraphs) up, and suggest the following reorder: Introduction: :''New Zealand English is the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand, often referred to within New Zealand as Newzild.'' :''New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside the country. Most of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English of southern England than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Maori speech.'' #Spelling (using all except the first sentence of introduction para.2 and expanding from there) # Maori influence (starting with what is now para. 3 of the introduction) ## Vocabulary ## Pronunciation of Maori place names # Unique New Zealand English vocabulary ## Unique phrases # Differences from British English ## Additional Schwa ## Distinction between /E@/ and /I@/ ## Rising Inflection ## Use of "She" as third person neuter # Differences from Australian English ## Short i ## Short e ## Chance, dance, etc. ## More/sure ## Schwa in unstressed syllables ## Letter 'h' ## Letter 'l' ## Other differences # Dialects within New Zealand English # Dictionaries of New Zealand English (adding details from the introduction para. 4, and possibly the books listed in "Further reading") # See also # Further reading # External links User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:10, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) *Good idea. User:Ping 07:18, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) I'll give it a week or so to see if anyone objects, but if others think it's a good diea too, then I'll swap things around. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness Update. Done. Comments, bouquets, brickbats? User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 06:54, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Nei or ne?== I thought the word in Maori that asks "is that not so?" was "ne" not "nei". It's used in at least two places in the article. Can anyone confirm either way? User:Ben Arnold 09:06, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC) :My fault. The ''Reed pocket dictionary of modern Māori'' agrees with you. Actually, it should be n followed by e-macron, but I don't know what character to type for that (if anyone does, please replace its two appearances in the ''Māori influence'' section of the article!) User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 00:03, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC) == -ize == in your section 'Spelling' you state -ize is UK english. You are absolutely wrong. -ise is the overwhelmingly common ending here in the UK, the ending -ize is an american invention. Whereas we write 'burgled', and americans would say 'burglarized'. By further illustration UK is 'sodomised' but US is 'sodomized'. It is a horrible clumsy adaptation and universally ignored in the UK. Unless you can justify your claim I will be forced to edit the article to remove this calumny against my native language :-P User:193.131.115.253 :Hate to tell you this, but both -ize and -ise are UK inventions. It's just that the early settlers to the US took -ize with them from the old country, and -ise is a much more recent creation. The UK and New Zealand had the good sense to adapt to a more sensible spelling. The US decided (as they seem to do with a lot of things) that if something used in the US is changed for the better overseas, it is "Un-American" and should be avoided. You will note that the article doesn't say that -ize is standard in the UK, just that it is allowable there and that several manuals of style prefer it. Both are true. Still, you are right that it is a little misleading. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 02:05, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Back-trilled r... == As in a velar trill? Sure these weren't French settlers? User:Alai 06:28, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) :not ''that'' big a trill! No, they were Scots. Listen to a northern Scot say "Aberdeen" and it will all make sense! User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 11:48, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::Or listen to myself saying it, even. I've never heard that called a "back trill", though: it's alveolar. (Or an alveolar tap or approximant in some cases, but so far as I know, never significantly further back as regards point of articulation.) Back trill refers any time I've come across the term to a velar or uvular sound, i.e. the French, German etc r (in cases where it's actually trilled, rather than a fricative, which is the part at which I start getting especially hazy). User:Alai 15:59, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) :If you feel that would be better, feel free... I know virtually nothing about the science behind vocalisation. Anyone else here know more? User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:48, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Zuchinni / Courgette == Really? If asked which was the predominant term in NZ, I'd judge that they are about equal. Some supermarkets call them courgettes, some zuchinnis, ditto fruiterers and locally published recipies. Restaurants seem to favour Zuchinni - maybe because Italian cuisine is more fashionable than French these days. So even if zuchinni is the predominant form in Oz, I don't think a contrast is warranted.User:Dramatic 10:07, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC) :Agree that both terms are used. User:Evil Monkey∴User talk:Evil Monkey 10:49, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC) :Thirded. User:Ben Arnold 04:36, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::Feel free to take it out then. User:Moncrief 06:28, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC) == Newzild == Newzild (a play on the 'lazy' pronunciation of New Zealand by some speakers) is a colloquial name for New Zealand speech, maybe heard less often now than in the 1970's and 1980's. It was also the title of a short humorous book, a companion to "Les Stalk Strine", which spoofed Australian English. If I can find my copy I'll post publication details. User:Dramatic 03:25, 7 May 2005 (UTC) == IPA for NZE == There's an article (International Phonetic Alphabet for English) that describes the differences between General American, General Australian and Received Pronunciation. Can any one who knows linguistics update this article to include New Zealand pronunciation? I have a lot of trouble understanding IPA because all the examples for the symbols are in accents that don't match mine. (I remember an American telling me the ''a'' in ''Java'' was like the ''o'' in ''hot'', when they really meant something closer to the ''u'' in ''hut''.) User:Ben Arnold 01:06, 11 May 2005 (UTC) == Fiord vs fjord == I discovered this when I stumbled upon the fjord article and thought, "oh yeah, someone's decided to be politically correct and use the non-anglicised form". After a bit of googling I found out that the rest of the world seems to hold to that crazy j: * *.au: fiord 314, fjord 3880 * *.ca: fiord 9310, fjord 49200 * *.ie: fiord 38, fjord 329 * *.uk: fiord 624, fjord 63500 * *.us: fiord 164, fjord 960 * *.za: fiord 12, fjord 205 versus * *.nz: fiord 600, fjord 285 User:Ben Arnold 12:11, 16 May 2005 (UTC) :It took me ages, when I moved to NZ, to get used to the "crazy ''non-''English spelling" of fiord with an I. In fact, I think the only time I regularly use the "I" is in "Fiordland". User:Grutness...''User_talk:Grutness 01:40, 17 May 2005 (UTC) == IPA for NZE vowels == This is my first attempt based on the reading and listening I've been doing. I'm hoping it will form the basis for a discussion here that can make its way into the text. The Received Pronounciation, General American and General Australian sounds I've got from International Phonetic Alphabet for English. A * – the ''a'' in ''father'' (NZ) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (RP) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (Aust.) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (Am.) **The NZ pronunciation (at least among my linguistic group) is definitely not a long . So maybe we're different from the Australians, maybe I don't speak standard NZE or maybe there's a mistake in the Australian transcription. User:Ben Arnold :There certainly isn't a mistake in the Australian transcription for . Are you sure that NZers don't use this sound? :Listen to the following sound files and also to NZers on the News on TV for this sound: :*For the :*For the :*For the :The first one is definitely AuE. Which one sounds closest to NZE to your ears? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 11:45, 22 May 2005 (UTC) ::I think you're right by those samples, so maybe isn't the right transcription of the ''uh'' sound I make in words like ''cut'', or maybe IPA transcribes both sounds with the same symbol. For me ''ah'' is further "back" than ''uh''. User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC) :Those sound samples are just examples, there are always variations in the way a sound is articulated by each individual. I'm inclined to go by the below monophthong diagram on NZE, as that has most likely been drawn from a wide selection of individuals. ::True, but that diagram has seperate (if overlapping) circles for ''hard'' and ''hud''. Also, according to that diagram NZE would have for the ''er'' in ''herd''. And I'm not sure what the significance of the arrow is for ''heed''. I'll see if I can find another source to compare with. :Of course there are separate circles for the vowels in h''ar''d and h''u''d, because they are different vowels with slightly different values. The reason the circles overlap is because they cover the range that different speakers articulate these two vowels. These vowels are both low central vowels and hence use the symbol . The vowels "uh" (as in h''u''d) and "ah" (as in h''ar''d) are probably going to be tough ones to sort out.
Ben, did any of the sound samples above sound similar to the vowels you use for "uh" and "ah"? (added a third sound sample above, if that's any help) ::The third sound helps. I think I use for for "ah" and for "uh". User:Ben Arnold 09:14, 25 May 2005 (UTC) :Ah, so your "ah" is actually further forward than your "uh" rather than being further back. That makes sense when looking at the NZE monophthong diagram. In the diagram the vowel in "h''ar''d" is futher forward (closer to ) than the vowel in "h''u''d", which is also the case in Australian English. So do you want to assign for the sound of ''a'' in ''father'' the phoneme or the phoneme used in AuE? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 14:01, 25 May 2005 (UTC) :Ok I've [a] for "ah" now. User:Ben Arnold 11:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC) * – the ''a'' in ''bat'' (NZ) ** RP ''bet'' sounds almost identical to NZ ''bet'' ** – the ''a'' in ''bat'' (RP/Aust./Am.) E * – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (NZ) ** – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (RP/Aust.) ** – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (Am.) ** (of using for NZ) Not real evidence for this one, other than not being able to find a better rendering, and that it's consistent with RP and Aust. :According to that diagram, the symbol that should be used for ''er'' in ''herd'' should be , and also the short i should have the symbol rather than schwa. The reason why is used, is because it's the traditional symbol used for this sound. Like schwa is used over for short i. – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 10:36, 24 May 2005 (UTC) * – the ''e'' in ''bet'' (NZ/Aust.) ** I think we're closer to Australia here, RP ''bet'' sounds like ''bat'' to a NZer, so this would follow. * – the ''ee'' in ''meet'' (NZ) ** – the ''ee'' in ''meet'' (RP/Aust./Am.) :[Originally I had [iː] for the NZ ee sound. User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC)] ::Are you sure about for NZE? To Australian ears, the NZ long i (as in f''ee''t) sounds a lot like the Australian short i (as in f''i''t). – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 11:45, 22 May 2005 (UTC) ::: I'll buy that. After all Australians often sound like you're saying Seedney to New Zealanders. I think I was confusing a long vowel with a shift towards . User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC) I * – the ''i'' in ''bit'' (NZ) ** (of using for NZ) This is fairly well documented. User:Ben Arnold : I have changed this now to reflect the comment by AxSkov. User:Ben Arnold 11:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC) ** – ''i'' in ''bit'' (RP/Aust./Am.) O * – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (NZ/Aust.) ** RP/Am. ''caught'' sounds like ''cot'' to a NZer, and this is the sound ascribed to Australians. ** – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (RP) ** – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (Am.) * – the ''or'' in ''port'' (NZ/Aust.) ** NZ sound is similar to Aust. sound, and since the RP/Am. ''caught'' sounds like ''cot'' to a NZer, it makes sense ** – the ''o'' in ''port'' (Am.) ** – the ''or'' in ''port'' (RP) U * – the ''u'' in ''put'' (NZ/RP/Aust./Am.) **seems to apply everywhere; couldn't find a source that indicated that NZ is different * – the ''oo'' in ''boot'' (NZ/Aust.) **I've seen a lot of places that claim this for Australia, and the NZ sound is definitely closer to the Australian sound that the RP or US sound. ** – the ''oo'' in ''boot'' (RP/US) * – the ''u'' in ''cut'' (NZ/Aust.) ** Well ''luck'' sounds different from ''lick'' so we must be using a different sound from RP/Am. I can't detect a difference from the sound the Aussies use, so it seems reasonable. ** – the ''u'' in ''cut'' (RP/Am.) :I should also mention that this sound in both RP and GA is a low central vowel and should be represented by rather than , but is the traditional symbol used for this sound in those dialects. (see ''open-mid back unrounded vowel'') – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 10:36, 24 May 2005 (UTC) Here are links to a couple of diagrams for New Zealand English [http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/vowelgraphs/NZE_Monophthongs.html Monophthongs] and [http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/vowelgraphs/NZE_Diphthongs.html Diphthongs].
Could you list your references? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 12:15, 22 May 2005 (UTC) :That page you mention and the IPA for English article are really the only sources I could find. I found snippits and hints on other pages I Googled but really nothing substantial (and I didn't record the URLs so they're useless as references). User:Ben Arnold 22:54, 22 May 2005 (UTC) I've just added a section (Lack of distinction between // and //), but I too know very little IPA, so I'd be grateful if someone else could check that I haven't made a mess of it! Cheers - User:Grutness...''User_talk:Grutness 14:00, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC).
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with New_Zealand_English:
New_Zealand_English
New_Zealand_English
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New_Zealand_English_language
New Zealand English
New Zealand English is the dialect of English language spoken in New Zealand, occasionally referred to within New Zealand as ''Newzild''. New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside these countries. Some of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English English than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Maori language. The most striking difference from Australian English (and other forms of English) is the ''flattened i'' of New Zealand English. ==Spelling== Possibly the most significant difference between New Zealand and British spelling is in the ending "-ise" or "-ize". Britons may use either ending (although "-ise" is by far the more popular), and some British dictionaries and style manuals prefer the "-ize" ending. New Zealanders tend to use the "-ise" ending exclusively. A peculiarity of New Zealand English is that the spelling "fiord" is preferred over the spelling "fjord" used in most of the English-speaking world. This spelling can be found in the name of the Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. Where there is a distinct difference between British and US spelling (such as words like colour/color and travelled/traveled), the British spelling is universally found in New Zealand. New Zealand English sticks very closely to British English in spelling - even more so than does Australian English. Some Americanisms have begun to creep into the country through their exposure in mass media (such as "thru" for "through"), though these spellings are frowned upon and are definitely regarded as non-standard. Mass media exposure (through early childhood programmes such as ''Sesame Street'') has also led to more acceptance of the term "zee" for the last letter of the alphabet, but "zed" is still seen as standard. ==Māori influence== Many local everyday words are not English at all, being traditional Maori language names for local flora (plants), fauna (animals), and the natural environment, and some other Māori words have made their way into the vernacular. The dominant influence of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) upon New Zealand English is lexical. An 1999 estimate based on the Wellington corpora of written and spoken New Zealand English put the proportion of words of Māori origin at approximately 0.6%; mostly place and personal names. The use of Māori words is increasing, particularly in the North Island, although there are regional variations. For instance, in most of the country the native wood pigeon is called "kereru", but in Northland Region it is called "kukupa" and sometime "kuku", and on the Chatham Islands the "parea". "Kia ora" literally means "be healthy" but it has also become a standard term of greeting, meaning "hello" or "welcome". It also signifies agreement with a speaker at a meeting. Other Māori greetings, "Tena koe" {one person} or "Tena koutou" {three or more people} are also widely used. Similarly the phrase for goodbye, "Haere Ra", which may also be the origin of the once much widely used NZ phrase for goodbye "Hooray". The Maori phrase "kia kaha", literally "be strong", is also frequently encountered as an indication of moral support for someone starting a stressful undertaking or otherwise in a difficult situation. Greeting someone on a cold morning is sometimes expressed as "Makariri ne?", (cold isn't it?). This phrase may have spawned the bastard Māori-English word "maka-chilly" which probably started as a joke and is not widely used. The slang word "buggered" is often equated with the Māori word for "broken", "Pakaru", and is synonymous with "Pakarued". Some hybrid words, part English and part Maori, have developed, the most common of which is probably ''half-pai'' (often written ''half-pie''), meaning incomplete or or substandard quality (''pai'' being the Maori word for "good"). Similarly, the Maori word ending ''-tanga'', which has a similar meaning to the English ending ''-ness'', is occasionally used in hybrid terms such as ''kiwitanga'' (i.e., the state of being a New Zealander). Intriguingly, several Maori words are used in English as lighthearted, or even slang, equivalents of their more common English counterparts. The term ''puku'' for stomach, for example, is more likely to be encountered during a friendly chat than in more formal circumstances. The common Maori sentence ending ''ne'' (meaning literally ''isn't it?'') is thought to possibly be responsible for the exclamational and/or interrogative use of "eh!" at the end of sentences in New Zealand English (as noted below). Evidence supporting this suggestion is the increased prevalence of the usage of ''eh'' in areas with a higher proportion of Maori population. It is thus a far more common usage in South Auckland, for instance, than in rural Canterbury. ===Vocabulary=== Examples of centuries old Maori language names for native birds are the kiwi, kea, kakapo, Tui (bird) and pukeko, the extinct moa, and the kotuku or white heron. There are also fish such as hoki, kahawai, tarakihi or terakihi and mako shark, and shellfish like toheroa and paua. Most of the List of trees of New Zealand also have Māori names such as the kauri, Dacrydium cupressinum, podocarpus totara, kowhai, matagouri and pohutukawa. Other vegetation with Māori names includes the kumara, a type of sweet potato. The word ''Kiwi (disambiguation)'' has acquired other meanings, most commonly as an Kiwi (people), or as an adjective instead of ''New Zealand''. The use of ''kiwi'' to refer to kiwifruit is not part of New Zealand English. Many Māori words or phrases that describe Culture of the Maori have become part of New Zealand English. Some of these are: * haka: a chant and (war) dance of challenge, popularised by the All Blacks rugby football team, who perform it before the game in front of the opposition * hangi: a method of cooking food in a pit; or the occasion at which food is cooked this way (compare the Hawaiian use of the word luau) * Hui (Maori assembly): a meeting; increasingly being used by New Zealand media to describe business meetings relating to Māori affairs * Iwi: tribe, or peoples * kia ora: hello, and indicating agreement with a speaker (literally 'be healthy') * kohanga reo: Māori language pre-school (literally 'language nest') * Mana: reputation—a combination of authority, integrity, power and prestige * Maoritanga: the sum of all Maori culture and existence. "Maori-ness". * marae: ceremonial meeting area in front of the meeting house; or, the entire complex surrounding this, including eating and sleeping areas * pakeha: people of non-Māori origin, especially those of European origin * puku: belly, usually a big one * whanau: extended family Other Māori words may be recognised by most New Zealanders, but generally not used in everyday speech: * aroha: love, affection * haere mai: welcome, come here * haere ra: goodbye to one who is leaving * hapu: subtribe; or, pregnant * hongi: traditional Maori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses * ka pai: good; well done * kai: food * kapa haka: cultural gathering involving dance competitions * kia kaha: literally 'be strong'; roughly "be of good heart, we are supporting you" * koha: gift * korero: to chat; to speak in Māori * mauri: spirituality * tangi: to mourn; or, a funeral at a marae * taniwha: mythical water monster * tapu: sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; probably borrowed from Tongan tabu * te reo: the Māori language (literally, the language) * tohunga: priest, shaman * turangawaewae: one's own turf, "a place to stand" - also the name of the Turangawaewae * wairua: spirit * whakapapa: genealogy, to discuss family history New Zealanders also refer to Māori people, in the plural as Māori, not as 'Māoris', and this is often pronounced as 'maw-rri' with a trilled 'r'. Note that the term "mauri" above could easily be confused with this, however (it is correctly pronounced 'moh-rri', again with a trilled 'r'). ===Pronunciation of Māori place names=== Many Māori place names suffered from a fairly ungainly anglicisation for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, but since the 1980s increased consciousness of te reo Māori has led to a shift back to correct pronunciations. The anglicisations have persisted most among natives of the towns in question, so it has become something of a shibboleth, with correct pronunciation marking someone as non-local. Examples *Paraparaumu - ''para-pram'' *Pauatahanui - ''part-a-noo-ee'' *Oakura - ''okra'' *Hawera - ''hara'' *Te Awamutu - ''tee-a-moot'' *Waikouaiti - ''wacker-wite'' or ''weka-what'' To further confuse matters, many southern Maori words, which have a distinctive pronunciation that differs from standard Maori, are frequently mistaken for anglicisations and "corrected". These include the pronunciation of Oamaru as ''Om-a-roo'' and of Kawarau as ''Ka-warra''. A mixture of southern Maori speech patterns and anglicisation leads to a third trend, the removal of the final vowel of place names, or the reduction of final vowels to a schwa. This is particularly common in the southern South Island. This pattern also results in local shibboleths, and result in such pronunciations as Lake Wakatipu being referred to as ''Wakatip'', and Otago being pronounced ''o-taag-uh''. ==Unique New Zealand English vocabulary== There are also many non-Māori words that are unique to New Zealand English, or shared with Australia. * arvo afternoon * bach a small holiday home, usually near the beach, often with only one or two rooms and of simple construction. Pronounced "batch". * brekkie breakfast * cher bro ''pronounced chair'' usually a strong voicing of thanks but also a parting salutation. Shortened from "cheers brother" although can be said to either male or female. Common in South and West Auckland. * chip, punnet or pottle, depending on the region, the unit by which strawberry and certain other fruit are sold. Pottle is also a standard term for containers of yoghurt. * chips "cold chips" as in US "chips" and UK "crisps", and "hot chips" US "french fries" and UK "chips". * chippie, a carpenter (same as the nickname in the UK), or a fish and chip shop. * choice!, excellent! Great idea! * crib, another word for bach, more commonly used in the south of the South Island. * The Ditch, the Tasman Sea, the "ditch" separating New Zealand and Australia. Occasionally also means the Cook Strait between the two main islands of the country. * domain, as well as its common overseas uses can mean a public park, especially a small flat grassed area within urban surroundings (from demesne: any estate in land). * eh!, used for emphasis at the end of a sentence, eh! (see note above on Māori influence. A similar but not identical usage is found in Canadian English). * flatting, sharing a flat (apartment or rented house). * footpath, pavement or sidewalk, shared by many countries outside US. * footy, football (usually Rugby Union or Rugby League, rarely soccer). * freezing works, a meat-packing plant, an abattoir. * '''G'day/ Gidday, standard New Zealand greeting (\"good day\"). * good as gold, great, just right. Often shortened to good as (see also \"sweet as\", below). * flash cool * Jafa, a derogatory description of Auckland used by non-Aucklanders. * Mainland. Usually, but not always, refers (sometimes mildly humorously) to the South Island, which, despite its much smaller population, is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand. * OE or Big OE, Overseas Experience, time spent travelling and working overseas, usually in Europe. * onya, short for \"Good On Yer\" (You). * pants, as in US \"pants\", much more common than UK \"trousers\". * Pavlova, favourite meringue-like dessert made from egg whites, frequently served with cream and kiwifruit. Often shortened to pav. * pom, British person, usually English (mildly derogatory). * Queen Street farmer, a usually pejorative term for an investor in rural land with no knowledge of land use. * Remuera tractor''', a usually pejorative term for a SUV (compare ''Queen Street farmer'', above). * scarfie, a university student, particularly one at the University of Otago. * smoko, rest break during work (especially as smoking is totally banned in public/workplaces). * super, old age pension scheme (from superannuation). * sweet as, fine with me (see also "Good as gold", above) * togs, swimming costume. * varsity in New Zealand refers to the university itself, not to a sports team. * WOF/Warrant, (Warrant Of Fitness), vehicle roadworthiness test, similar to British MOT test and the Australian Roadworthy Certificate, except that it is required 6-monthly for older vehicles. ===Unique phrases=== It is in metaphorical phrases that NZ English has made most progress or divergence. Often they reflect significant differences in culture, for example: ''Ladies, a plate'' is often seen as part of the advertisement for social functions. It means that the function is self catering; people attending are meant to bring a plate-full of food. Many new arrivals in New Zealand have mistaken this and turned up with an empty plate, but only once. ''Up the Puhoi without a paddle'' meaning to be in difficulties without an obvious solution. The Puhoi is a river just north of Auckland. Over the years the phrase has evolved and is now often heard as "Up the Boohai without a paddle". It is also sometimes attributed to other New Zealand rivers. It will be interesting if the phrase can withstand competition from the modern and very colourful variant "Up shit creek without a paddle". A variant of the latter is ''up the boohai shooting pukeko with a long-handled shovel'', meaning a fictitious place. ''Waikikamukau'' ("''Why-kick-a-moo-cow''") is also often used to represent a fictitious place, particularly as a sparsely populated rural area in the "back of beyond", and is a pun on the sound of many Māori placenames. Similar, but very rarely used now is Erewhon, the title of a book by 19th century novelist Samuel Butler. It is of course (nearly) the word "nowhere" backwards, and has an almost Māori appearance except that it does not end with a vowel. Although rarely heard in common parlance, a number of places have been anmed Erewhon, i.e. Erewhon Tce and Erewhon Park in Christchurch, and also Mountain bike tracks. ''Wide enough for an Ox team to do a U-ie'' —Said of very wide roads. ''Sticky Beak'' meaning someone unduly curious about other people's affairs, a nosey parker. Sticky beak is used in both New Zealand and Australia with the same meaning but slightly different emphasis. In Australia "sticky beak" is quite pejorative, to be called sticky beak is definitely a criticism, whereas in New Zealand it is used with more affection, it is often used as a tease. ''Box of Birds'' or even more colloqially "Box of Fluffies" or "Box of Fluffy Ducks" meaning to feel very good, chirping even. "How are you feeling?" "Oh, a Box of Birds" ''Rattle yer Dags'' an instruction to hurry up. Sheep running through gates and yards often make a curious rattling noise caused by their 'dags' (dried faeces on wool about their hind-quarters) clattering together. Similarly "He's a bit of a Dag" describes someone as a comedian. The word "dag" possibly derives from the regional English word, "daglock" (Middle English ''dagge'') meaning the same thing. See also Fred Dagg, Footrot Flats. ''The Half Gallon Quarter Acre Pavlova Paradise'' was an affectionate term for NZ back in the 1970s. It was originally the title of a book written by expatriate Austin Mitchell. ''No wucking furries'' is a deliberate spoonerism to moderate the phrase, "no fucking worries". Both mean "no problem", often given as a response to accepting a task asked of one. == Differences from British English == :''Main article: phonemic differentiation.'' ===Flattened 'i'=== The most noticeable difference in pronunciation is probably the flat "i", so that "six" is pronounced in a way sounding like "sucks". This is a part of the vowel shift that has occurred in New Zealand. Below, the latter word is how the former word sounds to the ears of a non-New Zealander: *pan → pen *pen → pin *pin → pun *peek → peck Note that many of the differences listed below are avoided by New Zealanders speaking "properly", as in public speaking for example, in which case the main differences are the shifted vowel sounds listed here. === Additional Schwa === Typically, a New Zealander will insert the schwa to words such as ''grown'', ''thrown'' and ''mown'', resulting in ''grow-en'', ''throw-en'' and ''mo-wen''. However, ''groan'', ''throne'' and ''moan'' are all unaffected meaning these word pairs can be distinguished by ear, unlike in British English. This has also been seen (rarely) in the pronunciation of the word ''three'', where the schwa appears between the 'th' and the 'r', creating a two-syllable word. ===Distinction between and === In thicker New Zealand accents, words like "chair" and "cheer", (, )are pronounced the same way (, i.e. as "cheer" in British, American or Australian English). The same occurs with "share" and "shear" (both pronounced ), bear and beer, spare and spear. This pronunciation is not universal, many New Zealanders do in fact distinguish these words (International Phonetic Alphabet used for phonetic transcriptions).
Younger speakers tend to merge toward , while middle-aged speakers tend to merge toward . This merging has been seen in some other varieties of English, but notably not in Australian English. ===Lack of distinction between and === There is a tendency for some words in New Zealand English to be pronounced with rather than the found in Southern British English, especially in those cases where the vowel with this particular sound is a stressed "A". Thus words like "warrior" and "worrier" are harder to differentiate in New Zealand English than in many forms of English. ===Rising Inflection=== New Zealanders will often reply to a question with a statement spoken with a rising inflection on the last couple of words (known in linguistics as a high rising terminal). This often has the effect of making their statement sound like another question. There is enough awareness of this that it is seen in exaggerated form in comedy parody of working class/uneducated new Zealanders. ===Use of 'She' as third person neuter=== New Zealanders, in informal speech, will often use the third person feminine ''she'' in place of the third person neuter ''it'' as the subject of a sentence, especially when the subject is the first word of the sentence. Thus phrases such as "She's a beaut day" (i.e., It's a beautiful day) are not uncommon. The most common use of this is in the phrase "She'll be right" meaning either "It will be OK" or "It is close enough to what is required". == Differences from Australian English == Although foreigners can find it hard to distinguish the New Zealand dialect from the Australian, there are differences in the pronunciation of vowel sounds, which are considerably more clipped in New Zealand English. (Canada face a similar problem, frequently being mistaken for U.S. Americans by non-North Americans.) The main distinguishing sounds are the short 'i' and 'e', as well as words like "chance", as described below. === Short 'i' === The short 'i' in New Zealand English is pronounced as a schwa . In Australian English, the short 'u' is often thought to be the vowel closest to the New Zealand pronunciation. So Australians frequently joke about New Zealanders having "fush and chups" instead of "fish and chips". However, it is really closer to an almost dropped vowel, so it's more like "f'sh and ch'ps". Conversely, the closest sound in New Zealand English to the Australian short 'i' is 'ee' , so New Zealanders may hear Australians talking about the "Sydney Harbour Bridge". Recent linguistics research has suggested that this trait comes from dialects of English spoken by lower-class England people in the late 19th century, though why it persisted in New Zealand while disappearing from Australia is not known. It is, however, also encountered in Scottish English, and given the relatively higher level of Scottish emigration to New Zealand than Australia, this may also be an influence. === Short 'e' === The short 'e' in New Zealand English has moved to fill in the space left by 'i', and sounds like a short 'i' itself to other English speakers. For example, you may hear New Zealanders talk about having "iggs for brickfast". === Chance, dance, etc. === The New Zealand pronunciation of words like "dance" uses the same vowel sound as the "a" in "car", in other words , resembling the broad A of British English. The common Australian pronunciation rhymes with "ants": . However, either form may be used in Australia, with the former usually used in South Australia (and almost universal in Adelaide), and common in New South Wales. ===More/sure=== "More" and "sure" are pronounced ''mua'' and ''shua'', whereas in Australia they would be pronounced as ''maw'' and ''shaw''. ===Schwa in unstressed syllables=== New Zealanders tend to be more likely to turn a vowel in an unstressed syllable into a schwa, although this is far from a universal trait. A clear example of this trait, however, is shown in the pronunciation of Australia's state of ''Queensland'', which in IPA terms would be to a New Zealander (rhyming with "seasoned"), but to an Australian (rhyming with "freehand"). This difference seems analogous in some ways to attempts by speakers not familiar with British place names to fully pronounce the -shire endings of county names. ===Letter 'h'=== Pronunciation of the name of the letter 'h' is , as in Great Britain and North America, as opposed to the aspirated , found in Australian English, in turn of Hiberno-English origin. (This refers only to the pronunciation of the letter's name, not to the pronunciation of words beginning with that letter.) ===Letter 'l'=== Pronunciation of the letter 'l' at the end of a word such as kill, is sometimes voiced as a 'w'. This is further found in provincial cities and towns. Some speakers will not differentiate the sound of the word 'bill' from 'bull', and both will have the final 'l' sound changed to a 'w'. Even words such as 'build' will be affected and will sound like 'buwd'. A common use of this is the word 'milk' usually said 'muwk' (rhyming with 'sulk' to a speaker outside of New Zealand). Although this varies greatly in different areas and between different socio-economic groups within New Zealand itself. This seems to be most commonly found in the southern suburbs of Auckland City. === Vocabulary differences === Other differences in the dialects relate to words used to refer to common items, often based on major brands: {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- !NZ !Australia !Explanation |- |jandals || thongs || backless sandals (or flip-flops in other English dialects) |- |chilly bin || Esky|| insulated container for keeping drinks and food cool |- |Swanndri || Driza-Bone || The quintessential back-country farmer's jacket of each country, a woollen shirt and oilskin jacket respectively. |- |dairy || milk bar
delicatessen || A kind of convenience store |- |duvet || doona || A padded blanket |} In New Zealand, the word "milk bar" refers only to the milk bar of the 1950s and 1960s, a place that served non-alcoholic drinks, primarily milkshakes, tea and sometimes coffee. Ice creams were also served. == Dialects within New Zealand English == Most Kiwis speak ''Newzild'' "as she is spoke": geographical variations appear slight, and mainly confined to individual special local words. One group of speakers, however, hold a recognised place as "talking differently": the South of the South Island (''Murihiku'') harbours a "Celtic fringe" of people speaking with a "Southland, New Zealand burr" in which a trilled 'r' appears prominently. This dialect is also rhotic; that is, speakers pronounce the 'r' in "bird", "work", etc. while other New Zealanders do not. This southern area formed a traditional repository of immigration from Scotland. Several words and phrases common in Scots language or Scottish English still persist in this area as well. Some examples of this include the use of ''wee'' to mean "small", and phrases such as ''to do the messages'' meaning "to go shopping". Many of the region's place names also reflect their Scottish origin, such as those of the region's two main cities (Invercargill and Dunedin) which both have Scots Gaelic origins. The trilled 'r' is also used by some Māori, who may also pronounce 't' and 'k' sounds almost as 'd' and 'g', especially in the south of the country (see Maori language for more details). This is also encountered in South African English, especially among Afrikaans speakers. The Maori 'r', though, is more like a short 'd'. == Dictionaries of New Zealand English == The first comprehensive dictionary dedicated to the species of English spoken in New Zealand was probably the ''Heinemann New Zealand dictionary'', published in 1979. This work, edited by Harry Orsman, was a comprehensive 1300 page book covering English as spoken in new Zealand, with information relating to the usage and pronunciation of terms that were both widely accepted throughout the English-speaking world and those peculiar to New Zealand. The book included a one page list of the approximate date of entry into common parlance of many terms found in New Zealand English but not found elsewhere, such as "haka" (1827), "Boohai" (1920), and "bach" (1905). In 1998, Oxford University Press produced a ''Dictionary of New Zealand English'' that it claimed was based on over 40 years of research. This research started with Orsman's 1951 thesis and continued with his publishing this dictionary as the editor. To assist with and maintain this work, the New Zealand Dictionary Centre was founded in 1997. A more light-hearted look at English as spoken in New Zealand, ''A personal Kiwi-Yankee dictionary'', was written by American-born Otago University psychology lecturer Louis Leland in 1980. This slim but entertaining volume lists many of the potentially confusing and/or misleading terms for Americans visiting or migrating to New Zealand. A second edition was published during the 1990s. == See also == * New Zealand humour * Australian English == Further reading == *''Dictionary of New Zealand English'' (1998). Oxford University Press. *Grant, L.E., and Devlin, G.A. (eds.) (1999). ''In other words: A dictionary of expressions used in New Zealand''. Palmerston North, NZ: Dunmore Press. *Leland, Louis S., jr. (1980). ''A personal Kiwi-Yankee dictionary''. Dunedin, NZ: John McIndoe Ltd. *Orsman, H. W., (ed.) (1979). ''Heinemann New Zealand dictionary''. Auckland, NZ: Heinemann Educational Books (NZ) Ltd. == External links == * [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwlingui/NZEnglish/origins.html Origins of New Zealand English] * [http://www.oup.com.au/content/General.asp?ContentID=96&MasterID=48 New Zealand Dictionary Centre] * [http://www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwi.htm Kiwi Words & Phrases] English dialects Languages of New Zealand New Zealand culture zh-cn:新西兰英语
New Zealand English
===Possible copyright violation=== Take a look at this page: http://new-zealand.asinah.net/en/wikipedia/n/ne/new_zealand_english.html This article seems to have started as a copy of the page linked above. That's bad because the page in question includes this text: "Copyright 1995 - 2004 United Dragon Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved." We're not talking about the same ideas. We're talking about paragraphs word for word, even including links. Maybe the non-Wiki site stole our content? Or are we using it in violation of their rights? :If you look closely at the small text at the bottom of the page, you will see "All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.This article courtesy of Wikipedia.org" --They are copying from us, not vice versa. Their copyright is somewhat misleading, as the most they can claim copyright for is the layout and web design.User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:43, 11 May 2004 (UTC) :FWIW, the site was already listed on Wikipedia:Copies_of_Wikipedia_content_(medium_degree_of_compliance)#Asinah.net. I added a few comments, as some of the info did not seem to apply anymore. User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 21:58, 11 May 2004 (UTC) ---- However, this American is going to remain unconvinced until you lazy .au and .nz sods get off your duffs and document them here. : or even Australian and New Zealander... the extra typing won't cost you any more... :S Most Australians can pick the Texan, Californian, New York Jewish, and New York Ebonics accents (for instance) by ear. The differences between Australian and New Zealand English accents aren't any less extensive. The problem, I think, is that most Americans have not heard too much of the New Zealand accent. The main difference between Australian and New Zealand English is the presence in New Zealand English of stressed schwa, which doesn't appear in most other accents of English. Australian English has a lax front close vowel instead, that of the British English "pin". User:pfnewman :OK, smartarse (or smartass, if you can't cope with alternate spellings), I've made a start . . . Seriously, though, it's not that hard to pick. It's as least as distinctive as, say, Californian and New York accents. --User:Robert Merkel I think people have done a good job on this page. I would add some borrowed Maori words myself but it is a bit of challenge for a Brit to turn a list of borrowed words from a page like [http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwlingui/NZEnglish/origins.html this] into something that does not invalidate the author's copyright. -- Artistole I've added a description of the pronunciation of "dance". Someone should check whether my description matches the samples I've uploaded to "Pronunciation" at http://briefcase.yahoo.com/careyevans/. --User:Carey Evans There's lots more material here now. Still to add is some mention of non-Maori New Zealand words, like bach and crib, though this is more difficult for me since I don't have the perspective to know which are actually unique to NZ. If someone adds the words, I'll define them. --User:Carey Evans 'Port' is only used for schoolbag in some Australian states (e.g. I think Queensland.) In NSW and Victoria (Hey! -and Tassie!!! - MB) (and W.A. - User:Mark Ryan) people say schoolbag, same as Kiwis do. -- User:SJK ---- Taken this from list of words unique to NZ and australia, since it's also used in Britain -- AdamW mate: Buddy or pal, the same as Australian English. ---- An anonymous user writes: :This is incorrect - the sound is much better represented as "darnce". I'm not so sure about this; some dialects of English would roll that R, and NZers hardly even pronouce R's when they ''are'' there. OTOH, I don't think I pronounce "pasta" properly, either. I'll try again with "car", which most pages seem to use for that vowel sound. --user:Carey Evans, 2002-02-03 "Taught properly" indeed! ''Chance'' vs ''charnce'' is optional in Australian English. ''Charnce'' is used by nearly all South Australians, most denizens of Toorak and Vaucluse and Paddington, and a good smattering of others from all over, NSW in particular. Rough guess: 70% of Australians say "chance". Yes, and some of us even had educations! Oh, and one more difference in usage to list: ''dairy'' vs ''milk bar''. It's interesting to see how many words Oz and Kiwi English have in common - more than I'd have thought until I stopped to ponder and read the examples in this and a couple of related entries. It's not so surprising that words like ''bush'' have made the trans-Tasman journey, but it ''is'' surprising to realise how many Maori words are quite familiar to this Aussie boy. User:Tannin :I've made some changes to the "chance" section; please make any more changes you feel are necessary. I'll have to think about how to add dairy vs. milk bar - how does it relate to the existing entry? In NZ, the word means what the existing article talks about, but is reminiscent of the '60s. -- User:Carey Evans : My apologies. That comment of mine about chanve vs crarnce was largely tongue in cheek. Still I think your revision is an improvement just the same. User:Tannin == New Zealand English usage == Can somebody tell me the origins of 2 specific usages:- [1]....many Kiwis, especially in the rural sector, will nearly always answer a question with a contradiction, e.g. [Q]"do you think this horse is a good bet?" [A]...yeah, no...she's a good bet" Why say "Yes" immediately followed by a "No". [2]....many Kiwis ask a question twice, e.g. "..are you going to the City, are you?" Why say "are you" twice? thanks :Meaning 'Yes', I acknowledge your queastion, I am considering it .... and the answer is 'No' :This usage appeared about five years ago among the yuppies and has since spread thoughout the country, urban and rural areas equally. However I am not sure that it is a New Zealand phenomenom; is it not also used in other English speaking countries. Personally I find it rather irritating and hope it proves to be ephemeral. :With regard to your second question. I have not noticed that at all in quite that form. However questions are often finished with 'eh?' :"".. are you going to the city, eh?" :I think the 'eh" is a sort of verbal question mark with the same function as "ka" in Japanese. :Hope that helps you User:Ping 09:12, 11 Jan 2004 (UTC) ::When I heard someone say that NZers were the only people who said "Yeah, no", I immediately thought, "What a load of rubbish. We don't say that." Then I thought about a bit more and realised, "Yeah, nah, we do!" And not only in response to a question. However, I have heard non-NZers do it too, so it's not just us. I don't know why I say it. It might be related to "No, that's right"! User:Nurg 10:30, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC) With regard to the second of the two questions earlier, I point out that the question is not "''are you going to the city, eh?''" but "'''''you're''' going the city, eh?''", though in context the ''you're'' can be omitted (thus "''going to the city, eh?''"). The "eh?" is never pronounced with a rise of pitch towards the end, it is only used for confirmation. The question isn't asked twice. Compare: *the movie was awesome, wasn't it? *the movie was awesome, eh? That is the usage of "eh?". User:Neonumbers Are NZers the only people to use "no..yeah?" Maybe they are ''in English'', but the Germans use it also nicht ja? Very much doubt there's any connection, though. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 07:29, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Kiwifruit== So what do New Zealanders/Kiwis call the kiwifruit? China gooseberry? User:Jengod 08:01, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) kiwifruit of course, after all we invented them. User:Ping 08:05, 16 Jan 2004 (UTC) Wait. I must be dumb. Is this part of the article a joke on ignorant merkins?: "The use of kiwi to refer to kiwifruit is not part of New Zealand English and will irritate many New Zealanders." :They call it the 'kiwifruit', but never a 'kiwi'. User:Morwen 08:13, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) ::Aha. It all becomes clear. :) Thanks NZ & Goodnight. User:Jengod 08:15, Jan 16, 2004 (UTC) Oh, and New Zealanders don't call New Zealanders Kiwis very often either. It's mostly a term used by ads, television anchors, and friendly foreigners. User:Ben Arnold 13:37, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC) :Yeah right. ==Sou' Wester== The page likens Swanndri (NZ) to Driza-Bone (Oz), saying they are the quintessential back-country farmer's jacket of each country, a woollen shirt and oilskin jacket respectively. The Sou' Wester oilskin coat in NZ is the same as the Driza-Bone, not the Swanndri. Sou' Westers are still widely used, especially on horseback . User:Moriori 22:42, Jan 26, 2004 (UTC) What about the "Affco Nightie'? Is it widespread enough to be worth a mention? User:Ping 08:24, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC) :The ''what''? ==Milkbar== What the hell is a "milkbar" supposed to be, in Australia? Is it a dairy?User:Lacrimosus 02:56, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC) ==Use of Kia ora== I deleted the last sentence from: ""Kia Ora", literally "be healthy", is now a standard New Zealand greeting. In Māori situations it is often used after someone has spoken meaning "Have you got that?" or possibly "Do you agree with me?" but this has not extended to general use." It ''is'' used by ''listeners'' to acknowledge or support a speaker in Maori situations. Actually I'm not sure it's a standard New Zealand greeting either given the current kerfuffle over its use on the tv news. User:Nurg 11:13, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC) :Firstly, yes it ''IS'' widely "used by ''listeners'' to acknowledge or support a speaker", and not only in "Maori situations". Do you want to add that to the article? Secondly Nurg, it is indeed a standard greeting in New Zealand, and I venture to say that tourists hear that particular phrase, and remember it, more thay any other specific term of greeting. You want to include that too? ::Yeah, absolutely. I heard Kia ora throughout my visit to NZ, and not only in touristy situations. User:Bkonrad≠User talk:Bkonrad 18:15, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC) ==Milk/Mulk== Put in a little bit about this phenomenon of the 'l' changing to a 'w' and also the 'i' or 'iu' becoming a 'u' sound as in build (buwd). Don't know how common it is in New Zealand other than Auckland mainly with the younger generation although not limited to and usually only people in south Aucks. Although it's little rough and not using correct terminology.--User:Hekaz 11:18, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) == NZ English vs. Australian English == New Zealand English close to Australian English?? Really? They're completely different, or does it just sound like that to me because I'm a New Zealander? User:Neonumbers 09:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) The sound different to me also but Northern Hemisphere English speakers insist that they sound very similar. I guess we have to learn to live with that. User:Ping 07:14, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC) :Yeah, no, it just sounds like that because you're a New Zealander. You'd feel the same way, though, if you were an Aussie like me. The only true answer is that you're both right and wrong at the same time. AusE and NZE are completely different to each other, this is true. :However, when compared to other dialects the similarities are obvious. This is true not only even they're compared to Northern Hemisphere English but also to South African English. :To use a analogy, compare a tuatara to a goanna. They're completely different, right. Then compare these two to a springbok, a bulldog, a salmon and an eagle. You see what I'm getting at. - Jim ==Maori pronunciation== I've removed Kawarau River's ''ka-worra'' pronunciation from this list, because it isn't a false anglicised pronunciation - it's a southern Maori dialect pronunciation. The spelling with the final "u" resulted from it being written down by Scots - it probably should have been spelt ''Kawara''. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness :There's still a distinctly non-maori sound to the very short o (hot) that you hear in ''kaworra'' down that way. User:dramatic 08:42, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) That's part of the southern dialect - compare the one in the (real) pronunciation of Oamaru. Remember the Scots also misheard "Kirimoko" as "Kilmog", again with the "hot" O. Compare also Hokitika's pronunciation. The O can be short in Southern Maori. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:48, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Vocabulary== h2g2 has quite an extensive list at [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A521191] - could be a basis for a few extra entries in our list. User:Dramatic 08:42, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Organisation of article== I can't help but wondering if the sections in this article are the right way round. An article on NZ english starts with a detailed discussion of Maori, then goes into Maori influence (which is what the previous sections were about). I'd keep the Maori section near the top, and would also split the first section (i.e., the introductory four paragraphs) up, and suggest the following reorder: Introduction: :''New Zealand English is the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand, often referred to within New Zealand as Newzild.'' :''New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside the country. Most of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English of southern England than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Maori speech.'' #Spelling (using all except the first sentence of introduction para.2 and expanding from there) # Maori influence (starting with what is now para. 3 of the introduction) ## Vocabulary ## Pronunciation of Maori place names # Unique New Zealand English vocabulary ## Unique phrases # Differences from British English ## Additional Schwa ## Distinction between /E@/ and /I@/ ## Rising Inflection ## Use of "She" as third person neuter # Differences from Australian English ## Short i ## Short e ## Chance, dance, etc. ## More/sure ## Schwa in unstressed syllables ## Letter 'h' ## Letter 'l' ## Other differences # Dialects within New Zealand English # Dictionaries of New Zealand English (adding details from the introduction para. 4, and possibly the books listed in "Further reading") # See also # Further reading # External links User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:10, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) *Good idea. User:Ping 07:18, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) I'll give it a week or so to see if anyone objects, but if others think it's a good diea too, then I'll swap things around. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness Update. Done. Comments, bouquets, brickbats? User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 06:54, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Nei or ne?== I thought the word in Maori that asks "is that not so?" was "ne" not "nei". It's used in at least two places in the article. Can anyone confirm either way? User:Ben Arnold 09:06, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC) :My fault. The ''Reed pocket dictionary of modern Māori'' agrees with you. Actually, it should be n followed by e-macron, but I don't know what character to type for that (if anyone does, please replace its two appearances in the ''Māori influence'' section of the article!) User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 00:03, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC) == -ize == in your section 'Spelling' you state -ize is UK english. You are absolutely wrong. -ise is the overwhelmingly common ending here in the UK, the ending -ize is an american invention. Whereas we write 'burgled', and americans would say 'burglarized'. By further illustration UK is 'sodomised' but US is 'sodomized'. It is a horrible clumsy adaptation and universally ignored in the UK. Unless you can justify your claim I will be forced to edit the article to remove this calumny against my native language :-P User:193.131.115.253 :Hate to tell you this, but both -ize and -ise are UK inventions. It's just that the early settlers to the US took -ize with them from the old country, and -ise is a much more recent creation. The UK and New Zealand had the good sense to adapt to a more sensible spelling. The US decided (as they seem to do with a lot of things) that if something used in the US is changed for the better overseas, it is "Un-American" and should be avoided. You will note that the article doesn't say that -ize is standard in the UK, just that it is allowable there and that several manuals of style prefer it. Both are true. Still, you are right that it is a little misleading. User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 02:05, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Back-trilled r... == As in a velar trill? Sure these weren't French settlers? User:Alai 06:28, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) :not ''that'' big a trill! No, they were Scots. Listen to a northern Scot say "Aberdeen" and it will all make sense! User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 11:48, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) ::Or listen to myself saying it, even. I've never heard that called a "back trill", though: it's alveolar. (Or an alveolar tap or approximant in some cases, but so far as I know, never significantly further back as regards point of articulation.) Back trill refers any time I've come across the term to a velar or uvular sound, i.e. the French, German etc r (in cases where it's actually trilled, rather than a fricative, which is the part at which I start getting especially hazy). User:Alai 15:59, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) :If you feel that would be better, feel free... I know virtually nothing about the science behind vocalisation. Anyone else here know more? User:Grutness|User_talk:Grutness 23:48, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Zuchinni / Courgette == Really? If asked which was the predominant term in NZ, I'd judge that they are about equal. Some supermarkets call them courgettes, some zuchinnis, ditto fruiterers and locally published recipies. Restaurants seem to favour Zuchinni - maybe because Italian cuisine is more fashionable than French these days. So even if zuchinni is the predominant form in Oz, I don't think a contrast is warranted.User:Dramatic 10:07, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC) :Agree that both terms are used. User:Evil Monkey∴User talk:Evil Monkey 10:49, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC) :Thirded. User:Ben Arnold 04:36, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::Feel free to take it out then. User:Moncrief 06:28, Apr 18, 2005 (UTC) == Newzild == Newzild (a play on the 'lazy' pronunciation of New Zealand by some speakers) is a colloquial name for New Zealand speech, maybe heard less often now than in the 1970's and 1980's. It was also the title of a short humorous book, a companion to "Les Stalk Strine", which spoofed Australian English. If I can find my copy I'll post publication details. User:Dramatic 03:25, 7 May 2005 (UTC) == IPA for NZE == There's an article (International Phonetic Alphabet for English) that describes the differences between General American, General Australian and Received Pronunciation. Can any one who knows linguistics update this article to include New Zealand pronunciation? I have a lot of trouble understanding IPA because all the examples for the symbols are in accents that don't match mine. (I remember an American telling me the ''a'' in ''Java'' was like the ''o'' in ''hot'', when they really meant something closer to the ''u'' in ''hut''.) User:Ben Arnold 01:06, 11 May 2005 (UTC) == Fiord vs fjord == I discovered this when I stumbled upon the fjord article and thought, "oh yeah, someone's decided to be politically correct and use the non-anglicised form". After a bit of googling I found out that the rest of the world seems to hold to that crazy j: * *.au: fiord 314, fjord 3880 * *.ca: fiord 9310, fjord 49200 * *.ie: fiord 38, fjord 329 * *.uk: fiord 624, fjord 63500 * *.us: fiord 164, fjord 960 * *.za: fiord 12, fjord 205 versus * *.nz: fiord 600, fjord 285 User:Ben Arnold 12:11, 16 May 2005 (UTC) :It took me ages, when I moved to NZ, to get used to the "crazy ''non-''English spelling" of fiord with an I. In fact, I think the only time I regularly use the "I" is in "Fiordland". User:Grutness...''User_talk:Grutness 01:40, 17 May 2005 (UTC) == IPA for NZE vowels == This is my first attempt based on the reading and listening I've been doing. I'm hoping it will form the basis for a discussion here that can make its way into the text. The Received Pronounciation, General American and General Australian sounds I've got from International Phonetic Alphabet for English. A * – the ''a'' in ''father'' (NZ) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (RP) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (Aust.) ** – the ''a'' in ''father'' (Am.) **The NZ pronunciation (at least among my linguistic group) is definitely not a long . So maybe we're different from the Australians, maybe I don't speak standard NZE or maybe there's a mistake in the Australian transcription. User:Ben Arnold :There certainly isn't a mistake in the Australian transcription for . Are you sure that NZers don't use this sound? :Listen to the following sound files and also to NZers on the News on TV for this sound: :*For the :*For the :*For the :The first one is definitely AuE. Which one sounds closest to NZE to your ears? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 11:45, 22 May 2005 (UTC) ::I think you're right by those samples, so maybe isn't the right transcription of the ''uh'' sound I make in words like ''cut'', or maybe IPA transcribes both sounds with the same symbol. For me ''ah'' is further "back" than ''uh''. User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC) :Those sound samples are just examples, there are always variations in the way a sound is articulated by each individual. I'm inclined to go by the below monophthong diagram on NZE, as that has most likely been drawn from a wide selection of individuals. ::True, but that diagram has seperate (if overlapping) circles for ''hard'' and ''hud''. Also, according to that diagram NZE would have for the ''er'' in ''herd''. And I'm not sure what the significance of the arrow is for ''heed''. I'll see if I can find another source to compare with. :Of course there are separate circles for the vowels in h''ar''d and h''u''d, because they are different vowels with slightly different values. The reason the circles overlap is because they cover the range that different speakers articulate these two vowels. These vowels are both low central vowels and hence use the symbol . The vowels "uh" (as in h''u''d) and "ah" (as in h''ar''d) are probably going to be tough ones to sort out.
Ben, did any of the sound samples above sound similar to the vowels you use for "uh" and "ah"? (added a third sound sample above, if that's any help) ::The third sound helps. I think I use for for "ah" and for "uh". User:Ben Arnold 09:14, 25 May 2005 (UTC) :Ah, so your "ah" is actually further forward than your "uh" rather than being further back. That makes sense when looking at the NZE monophthong diagram. In the diagram the vowel in "h''ar''d" is futher forward (closer to ) than the vowel in "h''u''d", which is also the case in Australian English. So do you want to assign for the sound of ''a'' in ''father'' the phoneme or the phoneme used in AuE? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 14:01, 25 May 2005 (UTC) :Ok I've [a] for "ah" now. User:Ben Arnold 11:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC) * – the ''a'' in ''bat'' (NZ) ** RP ''bet'' sounds almost identical to NZ ''bet'' ** – the ''a'' in ''bat'' (RP/Aust./Am.) E * – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (NZ) ** – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (RP/Aust.) ** – the ''er'' in ''Bert'' (Am.) ** (of using for NZ) Not real evidence for this one, other than not being able to find a better rendering, and that it's consistent with RP and Aust. :According to that diagram, the symbol that should be used for ''er'' in ''herd'' should be , and also the short i should have the symbol rather than schwa. The reason why is used, is because it's the traditional symbol used for this sound. Like schwa is used over for short i. – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 10:36, 24 May 2005 (UTC) * – the ''e'' in ''bet'' (NZ/Aust.) ** I think we're closer to Australia here, RP ''bet'' sounds like ''bat'' to a NZer, so this would follow. * – the ''ee'' in ''meet'' (NZ) ** – the ''ee'' in ''meet'' (RP/Aust./Am.) :[Originally I had [iː] for the NZ ee sound. User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC)] ::Are you sure about for NZE? To Australian ears, the NZ long i (as in f''ee''t) sounds a lot like the Australian short i (as in f''i''t). – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 11:45, 22 May 2005 (UTC) ::: I'll buy that. After all Australians often sound like you're saying Seedney to New Zealanders. I think I was confusing a long vowel with a shift towards . User:Ben Arnold 23:16, 22 May 2005 (UTC) I * – the ''i'' in ''bit'' (NZ) ** (of using for NZ) This is fairly well documented. User:Ben Arnold : I have changed this now to reflect the comment by AxSkov. User:Ben Arnold 11:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC) ** – ''i'' in ''bit'' (RP/Aust./Am.) O * – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (NZ/Aust.) ** RP/Am. ''caught'' sounds like ''cot'' to a NZer, and this is the sound ascribed to Australians. ** – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (RP) ** – the ''o'' in ''pot'' (Am.) * – the ''or'' in ''port'' (NZ/Aust.) ** NZ sound is similar to Aust. sound, and since the RP/Am. ''caught'' sounds like ''cot'' to a NZer, it makes sense ** – the ''o'' in ''port'' (Am.) ** – the ''or'' in ''port'' (RP) U * – the ''u'' in ''put'' (NZ/RP/Aust./Am.) **seems to apply everywhere; couldn't find a source that indicated that NZ is different * – the ''oo'' in ''boot'' (NZ/Aust.) **I've seen a lot of places that claim this for Australia, and the NZ sound is definitely closer to the Australian sound that the RP or US sound. ** – the ''oo'' in ''boot'' (RP/US) * – the ''u'' in ''cut'' (NZ/Aust.) ** Well ''luck'' sounds different from ''lick'' so we must be using a different sound from RP/Am. I can't detect a difference from the sound the Aussies use, so it seems reasonable. ** – the ''u'' in ''cut'' (RP/Am.) :I should also mention that this sound in both RP and GA is a low central vowel and should be represented by rather than , but is the traditional symbol used for this sound in those dialects. (see ''open-mid back unrounded vowel'') – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 10:36, 24 May 2005 (UTC) Here are links to a couple of diagrams for New Zealand English [http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/vowelgraphs/NZE_Monophthongs.html Monophthongs] and [http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/vowelgraphs/NZE_Diphthongs.html Diphthongs].
Could you list your references? – User:AxSkov (User talk:AxSkov) 12:15, 22 May 2005 (UTC) :That page you mention and the IPA for English article are really the only sources I could find. I found snippits and hints on other pages I Googled but really nothing substantial (and I didn't record the URLs so they're useless as references). User:Ben Arnold 22:54, 22 May 2005 (UTC) I've just added a section (Lack of distinction between // and //), but I too know very little IPA, so I'd be grateful if someone else could check that I haven't made a mess of it! Cheers - User:Grutness...''User_talk:Grutness 14:00, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC).
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