NZ culture 101: Te Reo Maori
Alright, this is partly a test of my new Dreamwidth account which Shirou kindly sent me an invite for. I in turn can invite people if they'd like to join now, so let me know if you do. I'm not sure I have my LJ password right so we'll see if it works or not - I might end up having to copy paste this...
Anyway, I thought I would continue with some insights into NZ (pronounced N-Zed) culture. I thought today I would share some words and phrases in Te Reo Maori, which is the name for the Maori language (Te Reo = 'The Language [of]'). Te Reo Maori is pronounced a lot like Japanese, but when you see an 'wh' it is pronounced like an 'f'. Australians love the town Whakatane because it is pronounced 'fuck-a-tar-nay'. So, here are common Te Reo Maori words used:
Kia Ora (Key-or-rah): Hello
"Kia Ora, up to much today?"
Iwi (E-wee): Tribe, people
"Don't forget to bring some food home for the Iwi"
Kai (K-eye): Food
"I need some Kai bro"
Whānau (far-now): Family (in an extended sense)
"I'm having dinner with the Whānau tonight"
Ka Pai (Car-pie): Good
"How are things? Is everything Kai pai?"
Haere mai (hi-ray-my): Welcome, greetings, come in
"Haere mai, how was your trip?"
Haka (hak-ka): War chant
"Hurry up the All Blacks are about to do the Haka!"
Aotearoa (ah-oh-tear-a-row-ha): New Zealand, Land of The Long White Cloud
"Come back to Aotearoa one day"
Other more rarely used terms:
Hongi (hong-e): Ritual pressing of noses as form of greeting
Marae (mah-rie): Maori traditional meeting house
Pakeha (par-key-ha): White European New Zealander
Mana (ma-nah): Spirit, force, respect (kinda hard to transate)
Pa (pah): Maori village
Ōtautahi (oh-ta-tar-he): Christchurch, where I live
Anyway, I thought I would continue with some insights into NZ (pronounced N-Zed) culture. I thought today I would share some words and phrases in Te Reo Maori, which is the name for the Maori language (Te Reo = 'The Language [of]'). Te Reo Maori is pronounced a lot like Japanese, but when you see an 'wh' it is pronounced like an 'f'. Australians love the town Whakatane because it is pronounced 'fuck-a-tar-nay'. So, here are common Te Reo Maori words used:
Kia Ora (Key-or-rah): Hello
"Kia Ora, up to much today?"
Iwi (E-wee): Tribe, people
"Don't forget to bring some food home for the Iwi"
Kai (K-eye): Food
"I need some Kai bro"
Whānau (far-now): Family (in an extended sense)
"I'm having dinner with the Whānau tonight"
Ka Pai (Car-pie): Good
"How are things? Is everything Kai pai?"
Haere mai (hi-ray-my): Welcome, greetings, come in
"Haere mai, how was your trip?"
Haka (hak-ka): War chant
"Hurry up the All Blacks are about to do the Haka!"
Aotearoa (ah-oh-tear-a-row-ha): New Zealand, Land of The Long White Cloud
"Come back to Aotearoa one day"
Other more rarely used terms:
Hongi (hong-e): Ritual pressing of noses as form of greeting
Marae (mah-rie): Maori traditional meeting house
Pakeha (par-key-ha): White European New Zealander
Mana (ma-nah): Spirit, force, respect (kinda hard to transate)
Pa (pah): Maori village
Ōtautahi (oh-ta-tar-he): Christchurch, where I live