Universität

Bayreuth

Rebecca

Püttmann

English Linguistics

SS 2008

The Mori, their influence on English and a

description of the language situation in New

Zealand

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1. Introduction 3

2. The people of the Mori 4

2.1 The culture of the Mori 5

2.1.1. The Archaic and the Classic Period 5

2.1.2. The Religion 5

2.1.2.1. Mana 6

2.1.2.2. Tapu 6

2.1.2.3. Noa 7

2.1.3. Mori genealogy 7

2.2. The language of the Mori - Te Reo Mori 8

3. European influences on the Mori until the beginning of the 20th century 9

3.1. Influences on Te Reo Mori 11

3.1.1. The restriction of Te Reo Mori 11

4. Influences of Te Reo Mori on English 11

4.1. The development of Mori English 12

4.2. Influences of Te Reo Mori on the New Zealand English lexicon 13

5. The current language situation in New Zealand 14

5.1. Language Policies in New Zealand 16

5.1.1. Aoteareo (the Waite Report) 16

5.1.2. The Mori Language Act 17

5.1.3. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 17

6. Conclusion 18

7. Bibliography 19

2

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1. Introduction

"Language is the very life-breath of being Mori"1

Looking at this quotation from the Mori Language Commission the impression is created

that language is the most important elixir for the Moris and also their culture. However, is

this elixir, Te Reo Mori, still alive or has the English language suffocated it?

With the colonisation of New Zealand by Great Britain the Moris had to face several

severe changes in their language use and their culture. These changes include, among other

things, the shift in the language of communication from Te Reo Mori to English and the

displacement of Mori tribes from their native land. Language death, and hence also cultural

death, would have been the worst case. But with the help of the New Zealand Government Te

Reo Mori and the culture of the Moris is experiencing a unique revival.

Nevertheless, Te Reo Mori has also had a permanent influence on the English language. It

was most influential during the first years of colonisation and now again in the period of

revitalisation. Similarly, other languages have had an influence on New Zealand English and

particularly on the language situation in New Zealand. More than 180 languages have been

spoken or understood by New Zealanders in 2006 and this number might have increased by

now. In spite of this large number of languages being spoken or understood, hardly any

policies for languages exist though a necessity for such a policy is more than present.

The aim of this essay is to have a detailed look at the people of the Mori and the influence

they had on the English spoken in New Zealand as well as to analyse the current language

situation, including existing language policies, in New Zealand. In order to do this, the people

and the culture of the Mori will be described at first and after that the influences Europeans

had on the people of the Mori and their language will be considered. Next, the influences of

the Mori and Te Reo Mori on the English language, namely the development of Mori

English and the influences on the New Zealand English lexicon, will be examined. Finally,

the current language situation in New Zealand will be presented including the most important,

already enacted language policies (

Aoteareo

, Mori Language Act and New Zealand Sign

Language Act).

1 Mori Language Commission on About the Mori language

3

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2. The people of the Mori

The arrival date of the first Moris in New Zealand has been a contentious issue for a long

time. Robinson (1992:44) states that New Zealand had been settled from the 1st century

onwards by people from either the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, the Cook Islands

or the Society Islands. Other studies from the 1950s and 1960s, however, state that a major

settlement had not taken place until 800 or 900 AD. An oral tradition from the Moris states

that a navigator called Kupe discovered New Zealand in 1325 without finding a single living

soul there. Thus, it is generally assumed that the colonisation of New Zealand by the Moris

started around that date with the greatest number of them arriving during the 14th century (see

Robinson on

Besiedlung

). This viewpoint is confirmed by the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,

which states that the Mori "are descendants of Polynesian peoples who had arrived [in New

Zealand] by 1300 AD" in canoes. The first and most canoes seem to have landed on the East

Coast of the North Island at a place called Whangaparoa, which is situated at the very eastern

tip of the Bay of Plenty. However, many canoes continued to explore the rest of the country

and "travelled along the Bay of Plenty coastline [...] up the Tmaki River [...], southward to

Mkau, in north Taranaki, before returning northward to make final landfall at a place called

Rangihua on the Kwhia Harbour" (Encyclopedia of New Zealand on the Arrival of the

Mori in New Zealand). Due to these explorations it can be assumed that the entire country

had been explored by the end of the 14th century. Nevertheless, the Moris seem to have

remained close to their initial settlements, which were most of the times close to harbours or

mouths of rivers. They retained their maritime culture and turned inland only over several

generations to experience a more inland culture influenced by trees and birds.

In order to completely understand the Moris and their culture it is important to mention

their arrival from their point of view. Robinson (1992:44) states that in the oral tradition of

the Moris Hawaiki is the origin of the first settlers. The explorer Kupe discovered New

Zealand around 1325 AD and after several further explorations had been made, the Moris

decided to intentionally settle in New Zealand in a great fleet of seven canoes2. The canoes of

the first settlers play an important role in the genealogy of the Moris as it will be mentioned

in detail later on.

2 The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand states that the arrival of the Moris in a great fleet is only a myth coined by

Europeans, either intentionally or due to mistake. The more or less officially accepted settlement history has

been mentioned before.

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2.1 The culture of the Mori

2.1.1. The Archaic and the Classic Period

Robinson (1992:45) states that Jack Golson used the term "New Zealand Eastern

Polynesian Culture" to refer to the culture of the Moris. This term can be divided into two

phases, the early Archaic period and the later Classic period. Davidson (1994:209) criticises

that the term `Archaic′ has been used in a number of ways, "from a narrow designation for

artefacts [...] to a blanket term for all cultural activity" and that it is therefore better to avoid

using the term. The way Golson uses the term, `Archaic′ refers to the culture of the Moris

and this opinion is in accordance with the Encylopedia of New Zealand.

During the Archaic period the Moris came in contact with a flightless bird called moa.

They hunted this bird for food and its bones were used for ornaments, fish hooks, bird spear

points and other items. When the number of moas decreased, the Moris started fishing,

fowling, and collecting molluscs. With the change from moa hunters to fishers and fowlers

the Moris began to settle in villages and specialised in making adze for their canoes. As

Robinson (1992:46) suggests it is interesting to note that the Moris in the Archaic period

seem to have been peaceful people who did not own any weapons of war.

The second period, the Classic period, began with the officially verifiable settlement of the

Moris, who arrived around 1300 AD. In this period the Moris slowly developed agriculture

probably also due to the introduction of new food plants such as the kumara, the taro or the

uhi/yam. According to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand "cultivated foods came under the

rulership of the god Rongo whose emblem was placed in fields with the growing crops, all

work being undertaken under the direction of a tohunga (priest)". The main equipment that

was used for agriculture were digging sticks (ko), spades (kaheru) and weeders (ketu).

In the Classic period the houses in the villages were often built on hills and if this was not

the case at least one congeries of huts and storage huts was built on a hill where people could

find refuge in case of danger or war. As more and more people arrived in New Zealand the

peaceful time was over and the Moris of the Classic period evolved new weapons of war.

The weapons were made of wood, bone or stone and were often handed down in families.

2.1.2. The Religion

The religion of the Moris is very different to Christianity. In their belief the world exists

of two parts, the world of light (

Ao

) and the world of darkness (

Po

). The death is a gateway to

the afterlife and can occur in three different ways, namely

Mate Taua

(death in a fight),

Mate

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