[Lupin]

Tauranga, I'm pronouncing tor-ang-a

Waipukurau, why-pooka-roo-ah

Waipawa, why-paw-ah

Otane, o-tane (rhyming with tame)

How far off am I??? :uhoh

[willsken]

Waipukurau, why-pooka-roo-ah

From when were there I think it is why-puk-a-row

For the first couple of days I called it "that unpronounceable place" Luckily the locals just call it Whypuk :D

[wilson182]

wait till the kids have to pronounce whakapapa (sp) My 6 year old still cant believe I wont get cross!!!

[willsken]

wait till the kids have to pronounce whakapapa (sp) My 6 year old still cant believe I wont get cross!!!


:D

[StevieD]

Bit like when teaching about Wankel rotary engines - you should see the smirks on the students faces!! :)

Slightly off topic but fun nonetheless

[willsken]

Yeh know the feeling - I tave to talk about 3 1/2 in Floppy's :o

[Lupin]

I don't think my toddler needs encouraging :roll


So, am I right with Tauranga?

[dawn]

close, it's more like Taw-ronga, according to hubby.

An

[Oregonkiwi]

It's easier if you remember that Maori words are made up of syllables and each syllable ends with a vowel. So Otane is 3 syllables: O-ta-ne. Break the others down the same way, Wai-pa-wa, etc.

And, just to confuse things, names are often pronounced more than one way, there's the correct Maori pronunciation, and then the way that "everyone (meaning Pakeha) has always said it".

This might help:
Guide to Maori pronunciation
The five vowels; a, e, i, o and u, are pronounced in two ways:
short long
a as u in but a as a in father
e as e in pen e as ai in pair
i as i in bit i as ee in feet
o as o in fort o as o in store
u as u in put u as oo in boot

Where two vowels are together: both are sounded but they are run together smoothly.

The ten consonants in Maori: h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, ng, wh.

The first eight are pronounced as in English. The last two are differend, with 'ng' being pronounced as the ng in 'singer', and 'wh' as wh in 'whale', or as a 'f', depending on the iwi.
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sarah/content/kiwiana.html

[Malin]

Great, the vowels are exactly like the pronounciation for german! :)

[gil]

http://www.maorilanguage.net/pronounce/index.cfm
Try this link....
Gil

[jess]

And, just to confuse things, names are often pronounced more than one way, there's the correct Maori pronunciation, and then the way that "everyone (meaning Pakeha) has always said it".

Yes! That's what I've found. I heard Otaki pronounced the Maori way (Aw tuh kee) once on the radio. I asked about that pronunciation, and the locals I spoke to (all Pakeha) said that's wrong - it's Oh Tack Ee. Then I met some more pc pakeha, and they thought it was ridiculous that the locals had told me the correct Maori pronunciation was wrong. Confusing! :uhoh

But I almost always hear the pakeha pronunciation of place names on TV and radio unless it's a Maori program. Someone told me he says the names differently depending on who he's talking to so as not to offend Maori or get quizzical looks from pakeha locals.

Sounds like a big headache, but the nice thing is that nobody seems to expect me to have it right, and I just asked a lot until I figured out all the place names nearby. It didn't take that long.

[Lupin]

Thanks all, loads of info between you all :)

Off to explore the links...

[Jules]

Try this one Whakarewarewa!!!

Jules

[marcia]

think I'll walk around with map in hand and point to where i want to be!!! Or a pad and pen and say point me in the direction of this place! :o

When we were out there in January, we collected our motorhome from the depot, and asked if they could point us in the direction of 'otter who who' (OTAHUHU where Marie and Dave Parker live) the man looked at us and said 'never heard of it'. So I got out my address book and showed him the name, he said 'oh you mean 'oh ter who'

Silly thing was the depot was in Otahuhu, about 5 mins from Maries!!! :confused:

[Jules]

Anyone now how to pronounce this one :exit

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakit anatahu
(hope I have spelt it properly!!!) Honestly it is a proper name, I have a map book and it is in there, anyone been?

If you look on a map it is south of Hasings on the coast.

It is a bit of a tongue twister, I can get it if I have had a few to drink :D

Jules :D

[jubjub]

Anyone now how to pronounce this one :exit

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakit anatahu
:eek:

there is this road in Auckland Karangahape Road , that just gets called "K" road, peice of cake compared to that place you found Jules...

[Diny]

Hellish confusing some of these names. I guess (one of) the advantages of being married to a Kiwi is that I get good tuition in pronunciation.

There's a place by us called Wharite. The vast majority of people (including locals) call it 'Far reet e' however a very few (mainly older pakeha) call it 'wa ra ty'.

I've only ever referred to it using the maori pronunciation for the simple reason that's the way 99% of the time I hear it pronounced. This meant that I was recently on the receiving end of a very sharp UK tongue (attached to somebody who had only been in the country 3 weeks at the time) who told me that because I am English I should use the English pronunciation and not allow 'these Maoris' to think they own the place.

Diny

[dawn]

Wow Diny, your post shocked me, what a thing to say.

I've recently been reading a book about NZ and I don't think I could've got through it without hubby translating!!

[jubjub]

I've only ever referred to it using the maori pronunciation for the simple reason that's the way 99% of the time I hear it pronounced. This meant that I was recently on the receiving end of a very sharp UK tongue (attached to somebody who had only been in the country 3 weeks at the time) who told me that because I am English I should use the English pronunciation and not allow 'these Maoris' to think they own the place.

Diny

Hope they got the sharp end of your tongue in return... :p , cheeky bu**ers

[sarahw]

The Maori guy on the TV weather forecast is good for learning place name pronunciations from!!

I work with quite a few Maori groups for an organisation that aims to be bi-cultural & sometimes its hard to tell if someone is Maori or not if they don't start the conversation on the phone in Maori so I've always used the Maori pronunciations.

Where we live (sure its the same everywhere in NZ) the pakeha's - much to my disgust - shorten words to make them easier to pronounce so:

Paraparaumu becomes Paraparam'
and Pauatahanui becomes Pau'tanui

I personally think it sounds awful and ignorant, but what the heck so many people do it! - I just refuse to.

After a year & a half the pronunciations come a heck of a lot easier - although I had to laugh when there was a report on kiwi radio which pronounced Luton airport Lutton - they must have the same problem when they come to the UK!

[Diny]

they must have the same problem when they come to the UK!


How true - I always smile when my Kiwi mates refer to my home county in the UK as Stafford Shire - with the emphasis on the 'shire'. Maybe it's just me being gramatically lazy by calling it Staffordsha.

Diny

[StevieD]

Wonder how the maori would go on with Welsh place names? Would be intersting that... and maybe a tad hilarious - but it would be an interesting experiment.

[willsken]

I've been in Wales 10 years now and I still struggle with some of the place names ....... God help me in NZ :o

[StevieD]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

[gil]

I think the Wales tourist board try and make a selling point of it. I saw an ad of theirs recently that said "travel to places you can't pronounce" Quite why that would appeal, I'm not sure, unless it's supposed to give us some sort of exotic gloss ;)
Gil

[Diny]

I can actually say that long place name (Llanfair P G) .... but I can't spell it.

Diny

[willsken]

I can actually say that long place name (Llanfair P G) .... but I can't spell it.

Diny

Well I must say I'm impressed! That will be the first thing I ask you to do when we eventually meet! :D

[gil]

Well done Diny! That's more than most Welsh people can do!:laugh
Gil