August 01, 2007

More Māori

Hi everyone! Sorry I skipped a post yesterday - I was actually slammed at work, and was at the office until very very late.

So, then, I'll have to do TWO phrases today to make up for it!

First, we'll do some geography. We live on the North Island of New Zealand:

Te Ika a Māui
Te Ee-ka ah Mo-wee

Aotearoa
Ah-or-te-ah-raw-ah

Aotearoa is the most commonly used name for New Zealand, which literally means "Land of the long white cloud". However, the translation book I just bought also gives this Maori pronunciation for New Zealand:

Niu Tireni
New Tee-re-nee

How about the seasons, next?

Winter (currently here in NZ)= Hotoke
Haw-taw-ke

Summer (currently in the Northern Hemisphere) = Raumati
Row-mutty

Spring = Koanga
Caw-unga

Autumn/Fall = Ngāhuru
Nah-hoo-roo

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