te wiki o te reo maori

kia ora tatou! It's te Wiki o te reo Maori - Maori Language week. I'm slack about trying to korero Maori in everyday life but maori language week is about giving it a go - saying "kia ora" on the phone or when you see someone (I do do this), leaning a little bit more about the language and about using it. this is basically what all New Zealanders have imprinted on them at the kindergarten stage. Here are a few things that it's neat and easy to pull out in a conversation this week (macrons omitted because... I'm really, really lazy and can't figure out how to do them.)

te reo maori is really, really easy to pronounce. It looks a bit scary because it doesn't look much like English, but basically, it has five vowel sounds and ten consonants and none of them ever change. No exceptions, no silent letters, no random decisions to spell things in a completely contradictory fashion. There's a bit of variety in the vowels, which can be short or long (think of the difference between the "e" sound in "pencil" and in "measure") but otherwise, really really simple. ( under the cut for a little detail )

Heoi ano (anyway), on to the actual language!

kia ora - hi, hello. You might also hear tena koe (hello to one person), tena korua (hello to two people - not common) or tena kotou (hello to many people.)

ko Tui ahau - My name is Tui. You can use your own name here or find a good transliteration (Lucy becomes Ruriha, Emily becomes Amiria, David becomes Rawiri, Mary becomes Mere, Sarah becomes Hera, Victoria becomes Wikitoria, and so on.)

( the basic greeting stuff )

( Random phrases and words that are fun to know: )

Thrilled and excited? Ka pai! check out 100 words every Kiwi should know and korero Maori this week. Or, heck. After this week.

And finally:

e noho ra! - goodbye when you are leaving.

haere ra! - goodbye when someone is leaving you.

(no subject)

In other news:

- as of Sunday, am officially 20. I really wanted to say "in my second decade" but, duh, that was last year.

- psycho flatmate has had an epiphany and decided to drop chemical engineering in favour of a commerce degree. While in general I think commerce majors are the last thing we need more of, she has become SO much more relaxed and happy that I am honestly blown away. Tonight? She asked me how I was. I nearly cut my finger off in shock. I feel like there's a moral in there somewhere about something something walking a mile in people's jandals something something; obviously I have forgotten the Teachings of Atticus Finch.

- it's, like, midwinter here, and yet today was a day I would not be surprised to find in summer, or at the least late spring. Sunny, clear, beautiful, and not in the normal, winter, it-looks-pretty-out-there-but-go-outside-and-your-ears-will-try-to-tract-inside-your-skull way, in the actually-warm way. if this keeps up? Officially shortest winter ever.

- the $NZ is currently at .81 of $1US. Now is the hour to get a debit card and spend zillions on the internet, y/y?