NATIVE DIALECTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 62, 14 March 1930, Page 9

NATIVE DIALECTS.

TRIBAL DIFFERENTIATION.

TRIITUTE TO MISSIONARIES

BIBLE INTERPRETATION BASIS

A well-recognised difference in the use .if the consonant, its interchangeability and elision, distinguishing the , tribal dialects of the native .people of New Zealand, was referred to at the meeting last evening of the Akarana Maori Association, following an ' address on the correct pronunciation, of the Maori language. One speaker gave an instance of the word "kianga" (hearth-stone or horaeT; which in the far South is spelt "kiaka." An even better example is "whanga" (bay), which in some parts is "waka" while in the South Island even the first letter is dropped. This is. seen in; the use of "Akaroa," equivalent to "Whangaroa" in the north. "Taagata-" (man) is "takata" in the South. The name for Stewart Island is "Rakiura" (derived from the fame of Southland for its rich red sunsets), whilst the northern equivalent is "Rangikura." The northern tribe's term of address, is "e niara," the general form of- greeting is "ehoa," but. on the East Coast it is "ehika." The first-mentioned . is interesting as an abbreviation of the word "maramara," meaning li a chip of the old block, - '.as the European would say. The natives of Kaipara, the Ngati Whatua tribe, have a quite distinctive address. It is 'e tua," an abbreviation in compliment to a tribal ancestor. The. Aravas often use "etama." an abbreviation of the name of chief Etanii Te Kapua. These and other pronunciation local usages provide means by which the tribal identity of a'person is established.

It was generally agreed that the dialect changes had been levelled to a uniform standard in Maori literature as the result of the work of the early missionaries and scholars who adopted a system, of adhering to the Latin value of the vowel in interpreting the Scriptures for the benefit of the native people. This shows the important early influence of the Bible and prayer books in moulding the different dialects of the Maori race into a definite written form, so that the people have retained a standard classic language as nearly as possible conforming to the equivalent of Oxford and Cambridge in English.

The opinion was expressed that, in spite of the written and phonetic variations in the native language of New Zealand it was probable that the differences in dialect were not so marked as they were amongst the people of the different provinces in England.