Brief Description of the Maori Language
Maori is an Austronesian language currently spoken in the central, eastern and northern regions of the North Island in New Zealand (NZ), and in most NZ urban centres as a result of Maori urbanisation.
Prior to the 1800s, with the exception of the closely related Moriori language on Rekohu (the Chatham Islands) it was only language spoken in New Zealand. Maori was isolated for up to 500 years from the East Polynesian languages in the Pacific from which it derived. European colonization (in the 1800s) lead to a rapid decline in the Maori population, assimilation, and a shift towards English. Maori Language revitalization efforts increased in the 1970s.
Current estimates for the number of fluent speakers range from 30,000 to 150,000, some 10 to 20 % of the total Maori population. All Maori now speak English. Almost all Maori today have European ancestry. The Maori population has increased since the early 1900s.
Maori dialects now show very little variation due to dialect leveling, the influence of English and the loss of the more divergent dialects. Word order is predominantly VSO. Words are open syllable. There are no consonant clusters. Vowels are either short or long. Last full bible translation was completed in the 1950s. Approximately 14 percent of Maori students (in years 1 to 13) are in some form of Maori bilingual/immersion education. Regarded as an endangered language.
Last modified: 22 October 2007.
This page is Copyright © Peter J Keegan, PhD, 2007.