Languages

There are two official languages in New Zealand: English and Maori. The predominant language is English spoken allover the country. Maori is a language spoken by half of the Maori population. Some Maori words are often used by English speakers too, for example whanau (family), kai (food) or Kia ora (hello).

Many names of New Zealand’s locations are in Maori and tourists may find their pronunciation quite interesting! Pronunation is different from English, vowels like “a, e, i, o, u” are pronounced “arr, eh, ee, or, oou”. It can be noticed that ‘ng’ is is usually pronounced ‘-ing’ as in gaming and ‘wh’ is pronounced ‘f’.

If you want to know more aboute the Maori language go to:
www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz