MAORI NOMENCLATURE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4857, 23 November 1883, Page 3

MAORI NOMENCLATURE.

( Now that it is becoming the fashion to use Maori names bo largely for our shipping lines, it would be juut as well if we learned to spell and pronounoo them properly. The rowels in Mnon are sounded differently to the same letter,! in English, and the lesult of the average Colo* Dial's struggles with somo of the namcrj is common use is probably to make our dinky brethren laugh oonsumedly, On this subject Mr J. 0. Woon thus writoß to the Greymouth Star:— li Ae regards the pronunciation of Maori names, it is quite diverting to hear the way most >of our good folks pronounce them. I will giro a few names, cor» reotly spelt, and between braokets hsv they should be prononnoed aooording t* the English Bounds of loiters :— 'Oma« pero' [Omah p ire], c Botoinahana ' [Botoe - mah - hah • uahj, • Tongariro * [*'«*■ ngahre-row], 'Arawata' [4//-rnh-V7ah>toh], 'Wairarapa [TTy-rah-ron-pahl, 'Wakatipu 1 [JPa/j-kah-tip-oo], 'Takapuna' [Tab* kah«poo-nah], • Orawaiti ' [OA-rah-ny-toeJ^ ' Sfahinapiift ' [Mfab-Ajn-ah-pooa], •Te Anaa* f I'6-aAnow]. Here, and in every other instance c hue i.ho tound of a in our wordf lake, take, wake, sake, ar.d bo on. Then M to the me&uings of Maori mmes. They are all most appropriate where pluoes aro oon« csi-ned, and iv many motatsei'a highly suggostivo — e.g., 'EotoranLojiii' n: • f\ng the warm lake: 'Kotoruo,' the Iwo ki ■•>■ ; 'To Anau* the cold (hko ur.cevfirtr.fi); 'W»iora" (wrongly spelled by ti-«« C:i;«tt Company ' Waihoro,') the living *;:■.<<>■; ' VVairftrapa," rushing walor. In fi-ii th.: j.iu.vo inetanoes, the italioiecd syllables ur« <lio"o where the accent should fall."