Maori English: phonology

Background

The existence of a particular variety of New Zealand English referred to as ‘Maori English’ has been indicated for some time, yet many commentators have noted that the variety continues to be rather elusive. Nevertheless, there are several distinguishing features that are generally agreed on, and these will be outlined later. An important fact to note at the outset is that these features are largely also features that can characterize ‘Pakeha’ New Zealand English (‘Pakeha’ is a term widespread amongst both Maori and European New Zealanders that is used to refer to the latter). The difference is that these features are more clearly evident (in terms of degree, consistency and their co-occurrence) in Maori English than in Pakeha English, and it is this that makes it a distinct variety. It is a variety that is used by its speakers as an expression of ethnic and cultural identity, regrettably replacing the Maori language in that function for many speakers. It has also been suggested (e.g. Richards 1970) that there are two types of Maori English, one possibly ‘broader’ than the other. The existence and use of a Maori English variety has not always been welcomed, notably in official education documentation in the 1970s.

The ancestors of the present Maori people were Polynesian explorers who first arrived in New Zealand around AD 925. They came into increasing contact with English from the time of early European settlement, and were quick to adopt English as a language of trade and negotiation. From the middle of the nineteenth century, scarcely more than a century after European settlement began in earnest, English speakers outnumbered Maori speakers. Unsurprisingly English had a marked impact on the Maori language, not only in terms of the ensuing threat to its very existence, but also on aspects of its pronunciation (such as the aspiration of previously largely unaspirated voiceless plosives). Maori, as a contact language, has in turn had an influence on the English of New Zealanders and can be implicated in a number of features on New Zealand English phonology, as well as on the lexis of New Zealand English. It is in this last characteristic that Maori English is possibly also most distinguishable from Pakeha New Zealand English, i.e. in the level of incidence of terms (largely but not exclusively relating to features of Maori culture) from the Maori language.

The phonology of Maori is considerably simpler than that of English, with five vowels /i, ε, a, ɔ, u/ and ten consonants /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, f, h, r, w/ in a (C)V(V) syllable structure. The vowels in a VV sequence can be identical (i.e. a long vowel) or different. If different, they may yield a diphthong or a disyllabic sequence, depending on the vowels concerned, but also on the context: in situations requiring greater clarity disyllabic sequences become more common. Voiceless stops were originally unaspirated, but have increasingly become aspirated under the influence of English. /t, n/ can be alveolar or dental, /r/ is a voiced alveolar tap. The nature of /f/ varies between dialects of Maori: it was written wh by the early missionaries, suggesting that it was heard as [M], though [ɸ] is also heard. A further significant feature of Maori concerns its rhythm, which is mora-timed. Where Maori is concerned, a mora is a unit of length such that a short vowel constitutes a single mora and a long vowel or diphthong constitutes two. In mora-timing, a sequence of two syllables each containing one short vowel is rhythmically equivalent to a single syllable containing a long vowel.

We will highlight some of the distinctive features observed for Maori English. In other respects, Maori English shows the same characteristics as New Zealand English, and so the reader is referred also on New Zealand English phonology (Bauer and Warren, this volume).