New Zealand English (NZE)

Brief History      English has been used in New Zealand (NZ) for over 200 years, from the first visit of Captain James Cook and his English-speaking crew in 1769. He recorded in his diary some Maori words, such as pah (a fortified village) and, on a later visit, pounamu (greenstone or nephrite), that later became part of the vocabulary of all New Zealanders. However, a more realistic starting-point is 1840, when the Maori, inhabitants of the islands since the 9th century, ceded kawanatanga (governorship, interpreted by the British as sovereignty) to the British Crown in the Treaty of Waitangi. From that time, settlers from the British Isles began to arrive in increasing numbers, bringing their regional modes of speech with them.

     Immigration to New Zealand from Australia and different parts of Britain has had a significant bearing on the way New Zealand English developed; this variety consequently evidences the linguistic influences of both British English (BrE) and Australian English (AusE). Linguists refer the ‘melting pot’ theory when explaining how NZE emerged. Essentially, “a new dialect arises when speakers of various dialects of English are thrown together, as in these colonial situations” (Gordon et al 76). NZE or ‘New Zild’ is generally thought to have emerged in its present form as late as the 1940s. However, the process of linguistic change began earlier, spoken English in NZ having undergone great change in the nineteenth century.

*Curiosity - Kiwi Bird, New Zealand's National Symbol      The Kiwi is the most ancient bird found in New Zealand. It is a nocturnal bird with weak eyesight, is flightless, rather small and sturdy, with a long beak. It nests in holes on the forest floor. Despite its awkward appearance, a kiwi can actually outrun a human and have managed to survive because of their alertness and their sharp, three-toed feet, which enable them to kick and slash an enemy. Kiwis have been known to live up to twenty years.      As an emblem it first appeared late 19th century in New Zealand regimental badges. Badges of the South Canterbury Battalion in 1886 and the Hastings Rifle Volunteers in 1887 both featured kiwis. Later, kiwis appeared in a great number of military badges. By 1908, kiwis were appearing in numerous sporting, political, and other newspaper cartoons.      The Kiwi bird has become a national symbol for New Zealand. Today, New Zealanders overseas (and at home) are still invariably called "Kiwis". The Kiwi is still closely associated with the Armed Forces. The New Zealand dollar is often referred to as the "The Kiwi" and the kiwi fruit is known as a "Kiwi" in some countries. Kiwis feature in the coat of arms, crests and badges of many New Zealand cities, clubs and organisations. (source: http://www.nzs.com/about-new-zealand/the-kiwi/)

Vocabulary and Spelling    

  Though New Zealand lies over 1,200 miles away, much of the English spoken there is similar to that of Australia. Among few differences between Australian and New Zealand English, several of them show the influence of Māori speech and also some Scottish influences in their accent, particularly in the southern regions of the South Island – a result of the large number of early Scottish settlers who arrived in the 19th century.

     Examples of the influence of Maori language are the words alcheringa and haka, or indeed the Maori name for New Zealand itself (Aotearoa). This is being used increasingly in the international contexts. The translation is "the land of the long white cloud".

     Although it shares joint status as New Zealand's official languages, on a day-to-day basis all you'll need is English, or its colourful Kiwi variant. All Maori speak English fluently, often slipping in numerous Maori terms which in time become part of everyday Kiwi parlance.

     In any case, the Kiwis* (as NZers call themselves) have their own slang, too. Official words as benzine instead of petrol, gas, though, are relatively small in number. As in Aussie and Yankee languages slang is more common usage than in England. Some examples are:

**Curiosity - New Zealand's Baches     In New Zealand, a "bach" is a beach house. Traditionally it was a small place, thrown together with timber, corrugated iron, whatever was at hand. It was a place to unwind, kick back, not worry too much about cleaning or getting sand in the beds.      Nowadays, baches are more likely to be architecturally-designed houses, or at least tidy-looking holiday homes. City folk want their weekend retreat neighbours to be a bit upmarket in order to keep the value of the property up.      There are still a few old-fashioned baches around like this one, but their days are sadly numbered. (source: http://www.somejinglejanglemorning.com/slipstream/archives.php?id=A2004111)

[Tradução do texto acima:]

Inglês Neozelandês

Breve História

     O inglês é usado na Nova Zelândia há mais de 200 anos, desde a primeira visita do Capitão James Cook e sua tripulação anglo-falante em 1769. Em seu diário, ele registrou algumas palavras da língua Maori, tais como pah (uma vila fortificada) e, numa visita posterior, pounamu (nefrita), que, mais tarde, tornou-se parte  do vocabulário de todos os neozelandeses. Entretanto, um ponto de partida com mais bases em dados reais é 1840, quando os Maoris, habitantes da ilha desde o século IX, cederam kawanatanga (exercício governamental, interpretado pelos britâncos como poder supremo) à coroa britânica no Tratado de Waitangi. A partir desta época, colonizadores das Ilhas Britânicas começaram a chegar em números cada vez maiores, trazendo com eles seus modos de falar regionais.     

     A imigração de australianos e pessoas de diferentes regiões da Grã-Bretanha para a Nova Zelândia tem influenciado de maneira significativa o modo como a língua inglesa neozelandesa se desenvolve. Consequentemente, esta variedade evidencia a influência linguística tanto do inglês britânico como do australiano. Alguns linguistas fazem referência à teoria do "melting pot". Basicamente, "um novo dialeto surge quando os falantes de vários dialetos de inglês são colocados juntos, como o que ocorre nestas situações coloniais". Acredita-se que a Nova Zelândia emergiu como sua presente estrutura na década de 1940. No entanto, o processo de mudança linguística começou mais cedo, tendo o inglês falado na Nova Zelândia passado por grande mudança no século XIX.     

Vocabulário e Ortografia

     Embora a Nova Zelândia se localize a mais de 1.200 milhas de distância (o equivalente a mais ou menos 2000 Km), muito do inglês lá falado é semelhante ao falado na Austrália. Entre algumas poucas diferenças entre o inglês australiano e o Neozelandês, está a influência das falas Maori e escocesa no sotaque deste último, particularmente das regiões ao sul de Ilha Sul - uma influência do grande número de antigos colonizadores escoceses, que chegaram no século XIX.

     Exemplos da influência da língua Maori são as palavras alcheringa e haka, ou mesmo o nome Maori para a própria Nova Zelândia (Aotearoa). Esta tem sido cada vez mais usada em contextos internacionais. A tradução é "a terra da grande nuvem branca".                           

     Apesar de o Maori compartilhar um status igual ao das línguas oficiais da nova Zelândia, no dia-a-dia tudo que você precisará será do inglês, ou sua colorida variante Kiwi. Todas as pessoas de origem Maori falam inglês fluentemente, alternando fraquentemente com inúmeros termos maoris que, com o passar do tempo, se tornaram parte da linguagem Kiwi diária.     

     De qualquer forma, os Kiwis (como os neozeladeses chamam uns aos outros) têm suas próprias gírias, também. Palavras oficiais como benzine em vez de petrol, gas (gasolina), no entanto, são relativamente poucas. Assim como nas línguas dos Aussies e dos Yankees (modos informais para denominar os australianos e os americanos, respectivamente) é mais comum ocorrer gírias do que na Inglaterra.