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New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside these countries. Some of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English Of Southern England than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Māori Speech . The most striking difference from Australian English (and all other forms of English) is the ''flattened i'' of New Zealand English. The New Zealand accent also has some Scottish and Irish influences from the large number of settlers from those places during the 19th century. SPELLING Where there is a distinct difference between British and US spelling (such as words like colour/color and travelled/traveled), the British spelling is universally found in New Zealand. New Zealand English sticks very closely to British English in spelling, more so than does Australian English. Some Americanisms have begun to creep into the country through their exposure in mass media (such as "thru" for "through"), though these spellings are frowned upon and are definitely regarded as non-standard. Despite mass media exposure (through early childhood programmes such as '' Sesame Street '') to the American English pronunciation " Zee " for the last letter of the alphabet, the British English " Zed " is standard. This is reflected in the short form of the country name "NZ" ("en-zed") and in a popular NZ band, Zed . The acronym is used in many organisational names including the band Split Enz , WINZ (Work and Income NZ, now a division of the Ministry of Social Development), TRADENZ (now NZ Trade and Enterprise), and ENZA (which was the New Zealand Apple & Pear Marketing Board's trademarked brand for export pipfruit). ''-ise'' Possibly the most significant difference between New Zealand and British spelling is in the ending ''-ise'' or ''-ize''. Although ''-ise'' is the more popular ending in both countries, some British dictionaries and style manuals prefer the ''-ize'' ending. New Zealand dictionaries and style manuals use the ''-ise'' ending almost exclusively. ''fiord'' A peculiarity of New Zealand English is that the spelling "fiord" is preferred over the spelling "fjord" used in most of the English-speaking world. This spelling is found in the name of the Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. MāORI INFLUENCE Many local everyday words are not English at all, being traditional Māori Language names for local Flora , Fauna , and the natural environment, and some other Māori words have made their way into the vernacular. See Māori Influence On New Zealand English . The dominant influence of the Māori language (te reo Māori) upon New Zealand English is lexical. A 1999 estimate based on the Wellington corpora of written and spoken New Zealand English put the proportion of words of Māori origin at approximately 0.6%, mostly place and personal names. Another sphere in which Māori is ever present and has a significant conceptual influence is in the legislature, government, and community agencies (i.e, health and education). Political discussion and analysis of issues of sovereignty, environmental management, health, and social well-being rely on te reo Māori at least in part. Māori as a spoken language is particularly important wherever community consultation occurs. Pronunciation of Māori place names Many Māori place names suffered from a fairly ungainly Anglicisation for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, but since the 1980s increased consciousness of te reo Māori has led to a shift back to correct pronunciations. The anglicisations have persisted most among natives of the towns in question, so it has become something of a Shibboleth , with correct pronunciation marking someone as non-local. Examples
To further confuse matters, many southern Māori words, which have a distinctive pronunciation that differs from standard Māori, are frequently mistaken for anglicisations and "corrected". These include the pronunciation of Oamaru as ''Om-a-roo'' and of Kawarau as ''Ka-warra''. A mixture of southern Māori speech patterns and anglicisation leads to a third trend, the removal of the final vowel of place names, or the reduction of final vowels to a schwa. This is particularly common in the southern South Island. This pattern also results in local shibboleths, and result in such pronunciations as Lake Wakatipu being referred to as ''Wakatip'', and Otago being pronounced ''o-taag-uh''. NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH VOCABULARY There are also many non-Māori words used in New Zealand English that are not in standard English. ''Note that many words are used less or have been 'phased out' over time.'' The following are shared with Australia or other countries:
These are unique to New Zealand:
Unique and distinctive phrases It is in metaphorical phrases that NZ English has made most progress or divergence. Often they reflect significant differences in culture, for example:
Over the years the phrase has evolved and is now often heard as "Up the Boohai without a paddle". It is also sometimes attributed to other New Zealand rivers. It will be interesting if the phrase can withstand competition from the modern and very colourful variant "Up shit creek without a paddle". Similar phrases can be found throughout the English speaking world.
"How are you feeling?" "Oh, a box of birds"
The word '' Kiwi '' has acquired other meanings, most commonly as an Informal Term For ''New Zealander'' , or as an adjective instead of ''New Zealand''. The use of ''kiwi'' to refer to Kiwifruit is not part of New Zealand English. DIFFERENCES FROM BRITISH ENGLISH Main article: Phonemic Differentiation . Front vowels and the flattened 'i' A noticeable Vowel Shift has occurred in New Zealand English. Front vowels, with one exception, are pronounced higher in the mouth than in British English, but the most noticeable difference in pronunciation is probably the flat "i", which is lower and further back, so that "six" is pronounced in a way sounding to other English speakers like "sucks", and "fish and chips" sounds like "fush and chups". Below, the latter word is how the former word sounds to the ears of a non-New Zealander:
Note that many of the differences listed above are avoided by New Zealanders speaking "properly", as in public speaking for example, in which case the main differences are the shifted vowel sounds listed here. Additional Schwa Typically, a New Zealander will insert the Schwa to words such as ''grown'', ''thrown'' and ''mown'', resulting in ''grow-en'', ''throw-en'' and ''mo-wen''. However, ''groan'', ''throne'' and ''moan'' are all unaffected meaning these word pairs can be distinguished by ear, unlike in English English . This has also been heard (rarely) in the pronunciation of the word ''three'', where the schwa appears between the 'th' and the 'r', creating a two-syllable word. Distinction between and In thicker New Zealand accents, words like "chair" and "cheer", (, ) are pronounced the same way (, that is as "cheer" in British, American or Australian English). The same occurs with "share" and "shear" (both pronounced ), bear and beer, spare and spear. This pronunciation is not universal, and many New Zealanders do distinguish these words ( IPA used for phonetic transcriptions). Younger speakers tend to merge toward , while middle-aged speakers tend to merge toward . This merging has been seen in some other varieties of English, but notably not in Australian English. Lack of distinction between and There is a tendency for some words in New Zealand English to be pronounced with rather than the found in Southern British English, especially in those cases where the vowel with this particular sound is a stressed "a". Thus words like "warrior" and "worrier" are harder to differentiate in New Zealand English than in many forms of English. Lack of distinction between ''ferry'' and ''fairy'' For many speakers of New Zealand English, the vowel in ''ferry'' is raised and becomes indistinguishable from ''fairy''. The vowel length distinction, however, is almost always retained. Use of mixed accents The common New Zealand pronunciation of the trans- prefix rhymes with "ants" and is likely to be a result of American English influence. This produces mixed accenting of the a's in words like "transplant" whereas in British English and most dialects apart from Australian English the same accent is placed on both syllables. Rising Inflection New Zealanders will often reply to a question with a statement spoken with a rising inflection on the last couple of words (known in linguistics as a High Rising Terminal ). This often has the effect of making their statement sound like another question. There is enough awareness of this that it is seen in exaggerated form in comedy parody of working class/uneducated New Zealanders. High rising terminals are also heard in various other regional forms of English. Use of 'She' as third person neuter New Zealanders, in informal speech, will often use the third person feminine ''she'' in place of the third person neuter ''it'' as the subject of a sentence, especially when the subject is the first word of the sentence. Thus phrases such as "She's a beaut day" (that is, it's a beautiful day) are not uncommon. The most common use of this is in the phrase "She'll be right" meaning either "It will be OK" or "It is close enough to what is required". DIFFERENCES FROM AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH Although foreigners can find it hard to distinguish the New Zealand dialect from the Australian, there are differences in the pronunciation of vowel sounds, which are considerably more clipped in New Zealand English. ( Canadians face a similar problem, frequently being mistaken for U.S. Americans by non-North Americans.) The main distinguishing sounds are the short 'i' and 'e', as well as words like "chance", as described below. Short 'i' The short 'i' in New Zealand English is pronounced as a Schwa . In Australian English, the short 'u' is often thought to be the vowel closest to the New Zealand pronunciation. So Australians frequently joke about New Zealanders having "fush and chups" instead of " Fish And Chips ". However, it is really closer to an almost dropped vowel, so it's more like "f'sh and ch'ps". Conversely, the closest sound in New Zealand English to the Australian short 'i' is 'ee' , so New Zealanders may hear Australians talking about the " Seedney Harbour Breedge ". The 'i' in Australian English is lengthened relative to England English, possibly as a result of the influence of Italian immigrants. So New Zealanders frequently joke about Australians having "feesh and cheeps". Film documentaries from the earlier half of the 20th century featuring both Australian and New Zealand voices show that the accents were more similar before the second world war and diverged mostly after the 1950's. Recent Linguistic research has suggested that the short, flat 'i' heard in New Zealand comes from dialects of English spoken by lower-class English people in the late 19th Century , though why it persisted in New Zealand while disappearing from Australia is not known. It is, however, also encountered in Scottish English , and given the relatively higher level of Scottish emigration to New Zealand than Australia, this may also be an influence. The pronunciation of English vowels by native Māori speakers may also have influenced the New Zealand accent. There is in New Zealand a distinct Māori/Polynesian accent distinct from the accent of white New Zealanders. Short 'e' The short 'e' in New Zealand English has moved to fill in the space left by 'i', and sounds like a short 'i' itself to other English speakers. For example, you may hear New Zealanders talk about having "iggs for brickfast" or hear an air hostess asking to 'kollikt your hid-sits' (collect your head-sets). Chance, dance etc. The New Zealand pronunciation of words like "dance" uses the same vowel sound as the "a" in "car", in other words , resembling the (and almost universal in Adelaide ), and common in New South Wales . More/sure Under American influences, many youth pronounce "more" and "sure" as ''mua'' and ''shua'', whereas their Australian counterparts continue to pronounce them as ''maw'' and ''shaw'' as do all older New Zealanders. Schwa in unstressed syllables New Zealanders tend to be more likely to turn a vowel in an unstressed syllable into a schwa, although this is far from a universal trait. A clear example of this trait, however, is shown in the pronunciation of Australia's state of ''Queensland'', which in IPA terms would be to a New Zealander (rhyming with "seasoned"), but to an Australian (rhyming with "freehand"). This difference seems analogous in some ways to attempts by speakers not familiar with British place names to fully pronounce the -shire endings of county names. Letter 'h' Pronunciation of the name of the letter 'h' is , as in Great Britain and North America, as opposed to the aspirated of Hiberno-English origin found in Australian English , although this is still widely debated within educational institutions within Australia. (This refers only to the pronunciation of the letter's name, not to the pronunciation of words beginning with that letter.) Letter 'l' Pronunciation of the letter 'l' at the end of a word such as kill, is sometimes voiced as a 'w'. This is further found in provincial cities and towns. Some speakers will not differentiate the sound of the word 'bill' from 'bull', and both will have the final 'l' sound changed to a 'w'. Even words such as 'build' will be affected and will sound like 'buwd'. A common use of this is the word 'milk' usually said 'muwk' (rhyming with 'bull(k)' to a speaker outside of New Zealand). Although this varies greatly in different areas and between different Socio-economic groups within New Zealand itself. This seems to be most commonly found in South Auckland. Vocabulary differences Other differences in the dialects relate to words used to refer to common items, often based on major brands: In New Zealand, the word "milk bar" refers only to the milk bar of the 1950s and 1960s , a place that served non-alcoholic drinks, primarily milkshakes, tea and sometimes coffee. Ice creams were also served. A traditional difference, between the New Zealand "varsity" and the Australian "uni", is rapidly disappearing with the adoption of "uni" into New Zealand vocabulary. DIALECTS WITHIN NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH Most Kiwis speak ''Newzild'' "as she is spoke": geographical variations appear slight, and mainly confined to individual special local words. One group of speakers, however, holds a recognised place as "talking differently": the south of the South Island (''Murihiku'') harbours a "Celtic fringe" of people speaking with a " Southland burr" in which a trilled 'r' appears prominently. This dialect is also Rhotic ; that is, speakers pronounce the 'r' in "bird", "work" as the 'r' sound is said at the beginning of a word, and so on, while other New Zealanders do not. This southern area formed a traditional repository of immigration from Scotland. Several words and phrases common in Scots or Scottish English still persist in this area as well. Some examples of this include the use of ''wee'' to mean "small", and phrases such as ''to do the messages'' meaning "to go shopping". Many of the region's place names also reflect their Scottish origin, such as those of the region's two main cities ( Invercargill and Dunedin ) which both have Scots Gaelic origins. The trilled 'r' is also used by some Māori speakers, who may also pronounce 't' and 'k' sounds almost as 'd' and 'g', especially in the south of the country (see Māori Language for more details). This is also encountered in South African English , especially among Afrikaans speakers. The Māori 'r', though, is more like a short 'd'. Some speakers from the West Coast of the South Island retain a half Australian accent from the region's 19th century goldrush settlers. DICTIONARIES OF NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH The first comprehensive dictionary dedicated to the species of English spoken in New Zealand was probably the ''Heinemann New Zealand dictionary'', published in 1979. This work, edited by Harry Orsman , was a comprehensive 1300-page book covering English as spoken in New Zealand, with information relating to the usage and pronunciation of terms that were both widely accepted throughout the English-speaking world and those peculiar to New Zealand. The book included a one-page list of the approximate date of entry into common parlance of many terms found in New Zealand English but not found elsewhere, such as "haka" (1827), "Boohai" (1920), and "bach" (1905). In 1997, Oxford University Press produced the ''Dictionary of New Zealand English'', which it claimed was based on over 40 years of research. This research started with Orsman's 1951 thesis and continued with his editing this dictionary. To assist with and maintain this work, the New Zealand Dictionary Centre was founded in 1997. Since then it has published several more dictionaries of New Zealand English, culminating in the publication of The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary in 2004. A more light-hearted look at English as spoken in New Zealand, ''A personal Kiwi-Yankee dictionary'', was written by American-born Otago University psychology lecturer Louis Leland in 1980. This slim but entertaining volume lists many of the potentially confusing and/or misleading terms for Americans visiting or migrating to New Zealand. A second edition was published during the 1990s. SEE ALSO FURTHER READING
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