11/17/2009

A bit of maori...

When I lived in Kansas, I thought the few Native American names for places were interesting and I tried to do a bit of research on the meanings, but to little avail.

Now that I am in a country where the indigenous folks are not as suppressed, I find the native (Maori) language more accessible. It is, of course, related to the Hawaiian (Polynesian) language and has 20 letters, the 'wh' being pronounced 'f'.

This is just for fun and they are not an exact study of the language, so please take it for what it's worth!!
  • tai - coast
  • wai - water
  • ika - fish in general
  • kai - food
  • tau - you or spouse
  • ua - rain
  • pori - people
  • whare - house
  • wake - walk
  • naka- there (near you)
  • po - darkness, sunset
  • nui - big
  • taraki - land breeze 
  • rewa - mast, high
  • tau - age
  • aroha - love
  • hoa - friend
  • maru - gentle, sheltered
  • wanga - wait or bay
  • whanga - await
  • koura - shrimp, crayfish
  • tara - peak
  • wa - time, season
  • rei - pursue
The next time you look at a New Zealand map, you can figure out the meaning of some of the place names!

Many girls are named Aroha.

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