WRITTEN ON April 22nd, 2009 BY kiwivera AND STORED IN kiwiland, politics
If you travel around kiwiland, chances are you’ll have trouble pronouncing a big percentage of the names of places. That’s because they’re not in English, but in Maori. You can go to Whangarei, Whakatane, Waiwera, Whangaparaoa, Manukau, Mangawhai, Maungaturoto, Pukekohe, Takapuna, etc. These are not even the hardest ones, just the ones I can remember (which probably means they’re the easiest ones). There’s even a hill in Hawke’s Bay that has the record for the longest name place in the world. It’s called
(are you ready?)
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Yeah, try pronouncing that. It Maori for “the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.”
It’s also important to say that the ‘wh’ sound in Maori is like the ‘f’ sound in English. So, for example, when you say Whakatane, you actually pronounce it like “fakatane”.
One of the most recent debates in New Zealand is whether a town called Wanganui should have its name changed to Whanganui (adding the ‘h’ and pronouncing it like “fanganui”). Maori people claim that it is currently misspelt (and has been so for 150 years) and want to see it changed. The Wanganui Mayor, as well as a lot of other New Zealanders, doesn’t seem so inclined to do so. (for more info, see this nzherald article)
The subject hasn’t been taken lightly by any of the parties involved. There were even complaints to the Human Rights Commission but the HRC decided that the matter can’t be formally dealt with under the Humans Rights Act, which is very specific about what constitutes unlawful discrimination.
I can’t say that it bothers or affects me too much. I’ve never been to Wanganui and it’s not a place that often comes up in conversations I have with people here. I could easily adjust to saying it with the “f” sound. But I still wonder why they feel the need for this change (like they felt the need to change the name of the homonymous river in the 1990s). I’m all for protecting and respecting other cultures, don’t get me wrong, and I do not say this in a moralist way. Maori culture is extremely treasured in New Zealand and see you that reflected everywhere, from some of the countries national symbols to little things like the fact that talk show hosts greet you with a Kia Ora at the start of a tv show. You don’t have to go very far to find examples of places where aboriginal people did not get the respect they should have (I’m looking at you, Australia). But still… Maori did not have a written form until the first European settlers arrived and started documenting it. So, as C. cleverly pointed out when we were discussing it, how can it be considered a spelling mistake?
