Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

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  • Te Reo Māori revitalisation and adaption with AI

    Te Reo Māori revitalisation and adaption with AI

    ChatGPT has become a household name for many, and is usually in the mainstream media each day. There has been very little discussion about ChatGPT and the risks and benefits to Indigenous languages, and in particular Māori language – the indigenous language of New Zealand. ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) Language Learning Models (LLM’s)…

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  • Māori culture and language observations with ChatGPT

    Māori culture and language observations with ChatGPT

    ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022.  It has been discussed by international mainstream media with many academics and education facilities concerned at it’s ability to assist with plagiarised writings and research. As with any new technologies, there is very little Indigenous perspectives or input into developments which…

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  • Why I support a dual name for New Zealand

    Aotearoa, while not an original name for New Zealand, has been popularised and is commonly used as the Māori name for the North, South and Stewart Islands. For this reason, I support the dual name being proposed by the Māori Party, to be an official dual name for New Zealand. It is important to note…

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  • Culturally Safe Mihimihi for non Māori

    At the beginning of meetings, as practiced on marae and in meetings all over the country, a round of introductions and speeches usually occurs. During this time, Māori ordinarily stand to share a little bit about where they come from and who they are. If you are of Māori descent, these introductions often start with…

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  • Google Translate Māori – Sexist and Ignorant of LGBTQ+

    Google Translate Māori – Sexist and Ignorant of LGBTQ+

    Google Translate is another example of AI, Algorithms and Machine Learning discriminating against minorities, while misrepresenting the Maori language and customs . Google Translate interprets te reo Maori more accurately as it learns and is supporting the revival of te reo Māori. While it had the expertise of Dr Te Taka Keegan in its development,…

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  • Origins of the term Pākehā

    The word Pākehā is a controversial word for some people. Some Māori and non Māori claim that the word Pākehā is offensive. Others have attempted to explain the word based on their own understandings and sometimes own hapū and whānau interpretations. Introduction This article provides an holistic analysis based on research from the early 18th…

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  • Kingi appropriation or ill informed individuals

    Kingi appropriation or ill informed individuals

    The NZ Herald and Stuff have run a number of stories about a restaurant using the name “Kingi” and a few Māori and non Māori claiming it is cultural appropriation. The arguments are in my opinion getting so absurd that that I worry about the knowledge of some people who claim to be cultural experts…

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  • macrons in .nz domain names

    macrons in .nz domain names

    This blog post is an update to my June 05 2011 post “Registering a domain name with a macron“. Since July 26, 2010 in New Zealand, all authorised .nz registrars have to be able to register a .nz domain name with a macron. Not all offer this service though. This type of domain is called…

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  • Te reo Māori alternative for Lorem Ipsum

    Te reo Māori alternative for Lorem Ipsum

    Te Re Māori is an official language of New Zealand. It is the Indigenous language of New Zealand/Aotearoa. The use of Latin as a place holder, while an international practice, there is no reason why any Indigenous Peoples can not and should not promote their own identity with their own language. Use of te reo…

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  • Dictionary of Māori Computer and Social Media terms

    Dictionary of Māori Computer and Social Media terms

    Over 374,000 unique headwords with translations from 32 different recorded sources makes this dictionary over six times larger than Ryan Modern Māori Dictionary, with almost 15 times more head words than the Williams dictionary.

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  • Kauamatua threatened with arrest for speaking e reo Māori

    Kauamatua threatened with arrest for speaking e reo Māori

    Kaumatua Kura Moeahu parliament’s Senior Māori Advisor was threatened with arrest for speaking te reo Māori after a traffic stop in Lower Hutt MāorTV has reported. It is only when the officer noticed Kura’s jacket had a Police related logo on it that the officer was informed by Kura that he is a Police Māori advisory board…

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  • Word list of te reo Moriori

    Word list of te reo Moriori

    This is not an academic or linguist publication, but a compilation of several historically published sources that contain word lists of Moriori. For full details including sources and an analysis download the publication here. My intention as a researcher was to compile and publish this material which is scattered among many historical publications that are…

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  • Māori baby names list

    Māori baby names list

    Over 1300 Maori Baby names; Christian, Mormon and non religious first names and their equivalent English name. Before using a name in the list, you should also check what other meanings are associated with the name. In the Maori language one word may have multiple meanings.

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  • Top 20 Māori baby names for 2015

    The most popular Māori baby names collated by Department of Internal Affairs was names were Maia for girls and Nikau for boys. All names were verified by Te Taura Whiri to be Māori. The list is below. The top 20 names for girls were: 1. Maia 2. Manaia 3. Anahera 4. Ana 5. Aroha 6.…

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  • NZ School oversight of Māori in the house system

    NZ School oversight of Māori in the house system

    Little or no consideration has been applied to the house system in New Zealand Schools and the impacts that they have on Māori children. Many Māori children may be placed in a house that competes against another house that may have their ancestral name or other significant tribal sensitive name. The house system at school is…

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  • Macrons in Gnome

    Macrons in Gnome

    Preferences->Keyboard (from the gnome panel menu), the Layout tab has the Maori keyboard layout. –

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  • Macrons for Mac OSX (older than Lion)

    Macrons for Mac OSX (older than Lion)

    To enable macrons to be created in Mac OSX systems that are older than Lion. 1. Launch the System Preferences application 2. Navigate to Language & Text, then the Input Sources tab 3. Find Māori on the list and tick the checkbox next to it 4. Tick the box next to “Show Input menu in…

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  • Macrons in iPad 4, iPhone 4 and later

    Macrons in iPad 4, iPhone 4 and later

    These devices and their operating systems have system wide keyboard(s) available by default. Mac OSX Lion can also create macrons this way. Hold down the key for the vowel you want to macronise (Maybe a second). A small dialog will pop up showing you several options, including a macron.

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  • Te Reo Maori macrons in Samsung Galaxy

    Te Reo Maori macrons in Samsung Galaxy

    Samsung Galaxy 4 Samsung Galaxy 4 has several default common languages that do not include Māori or other language to create macrons. To install Māori and other languages, the easiest method is to install an app from Google Store. Latvian is the only language currently available that will create and recognise macrons. Install any soft keyboard…

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  • Macrons in Microsoft Surface

    Macrons in Microsoft Surface

    Typing macrons in Microsoft Surface tablet is the same as with an Apple i-device such as an iPhone or iPod, but the macrons are installed by default. To create a macron,  hold down the key of the vowel you want to add a macron to and a list of characters will appear. It is important to…

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  • Te Reo Māori Strategy lacks modern day thinking

    Te Reo Māori Strategy lacks modern day thinking

    The Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples announced a proposed change in te reo strategy but failed to miss the fact that technology plays a vital role in this area. For any language to be spoken by the masses it must be normalised and easy to access and widely used in not only…

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  • te reo Māori Spam brings te reo Māori into 21st Century

    te reo Māori Spam brings te reo Māori into 21st Century

    With so much emphasis on te reo Māori being normalised; it looks as though spammers are now using Google Translate to translate spam into te reo Māori according to Robyn Gallagher http://www.robyngallagher.com/2014/01/11/te-reo-Māori-419-spam/ . Is this a new avenue of normalisation albeit an annoying but normal part of our online lives? I suspect so! and that…

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  • Automated Google Māori translations

    Automated Google Māori translations

    Google recently announced its support for several minority languages to translate into and from English with Māori being one of the minority languages. Background information from my October 15 2009 post is here. To use the translator visit http://translate.google.com For years a computer generated system to translate to and from te reo Māori has only…

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  • Google autocomplete racist to Māori

    Google autocomplete racist to Māori

    Responding to Stuff.co.nz story about sexism against women titled “Shocking sexism in Google search” I have written about the way Google autocomplete discriminate against Māori. It is unfortunate that no effort has, nor has ever been made to discuss the racist and offensive auto complete relating to Māori or any other Indigenous Peoples of the…

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  • Te Reo 2 Tweet

    A fantastic Twitter tool that Tweets pre-set Māori language phrases, questions and sentences is available to use. Created by Professor Kevin Scannell of Saint Louis University, the te reo Māori sentences have been added by myself, by sourcing popular phrases and high frequency lists of sentences. It is an ideal tool for beginners of te…

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  • Macrons available in .iwi.nz web address

    A recent collaboration between GodZone Internet Services a domain name company and myself as the .iwi.nz moderator will ensure that Iwi can now register their web addresses and names with macrons within the exclusive .iwi.nz address. For example ngāi-mea.iwi.nz is now a feasible web address. Despite such technology being available for the past 3 years,…

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  • Te Reo Maori gate keepers for the future or for the cemetery

    Te Reo Maori gate keepers for the future or for the cemetery

    Reo has to evolve or it will die, and it cannot be controlled by a small team; it has to be community driven. Gate keepers of the Māori language only hinder and halt its evolution. We live in an Information Technology driven society that needs Maori language to adapt. I have documented my personal thoughts…

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  • Papakupu Māori

    Commercial Māori language projects hold our people to ransom for what is our birth right – our language  The Papakupu is a Māori Language Dictionary that consists of headwords from published Māori dictionaries , databases, glossaries and Iwi dictionaries. It is estimated there will be over 150,000 unique headwords with each headword consisting of up…

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  • Facebook in the Maori Language

    Facebook in the Maori Language

    Archived from September 13 2012 Facebook is now available in the Maori language thanks to a small partnership of language revitalisation experts. View the word list https://www.taiuru.co.nz/publicationslib/facebook-maori-language-terms.pdf We live in exciting times in terms of the Māori language where with the right combination of Language speakers and technical people we are able to have software and…

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  • Bilingual Web for Māori

    Bilingual Web for Māori

    Māori will soon have a bilingual Internet system and guaranteed protection of Iwi and God Names with the introduction of the new web address .kiwi being introduced possibly next year.   .kiwi http://www.dot-kiwi.com/ will be an alternative to the current options of domain names such as .nz or .org . .kiwi will be introduced along with a…

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  • Māori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry

    It has been a busy past two weeks with major Māori initiatives and developments by New Zealand telcos and associated parties. This is a summary of those initiatives with an explanation of who the Māori groups are. 2 Degrees 2Degrees Mobile announced a Te Reo Maori smart phone, the IDEOS X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust…

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  • Smartphone in Māori language

    2 Degrees yesterday announced  the release of an Android phone with Māori menus. They did not mention that they have in fact blocked the development of Māori language development with smart phones for those who do not use 2Degrees and their “one” mobile phone. Android phones use an open source system to operate. Open Source means…

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  • New Zealand and Māori Predictive TXT database

    Using word frequency lists including: a Māori predictive text list, lists of common Māori words in New Zealand English and common Māori words used in Māori. I discuss and analyse which words would be most beneficial in a Māori predictive text database for Māori and introduce the need to update New Zealand English databases used…

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  • New Zealand National Anthem with Māori words.

    The vowels with macrons indicate the vowel is pronounced longer. 1. E Ihowā Atua, O ngā iwi mātou rā Āta whakarangona; Me aroha noa Kia hua ko te pai; Kia tau tō atawhai; Manaakitia mai Aotearoa 2. Ōna mano tāngata Kiri whero, kiri mā, Iwi Māori, Pākehā, Rūpeke katoa, Nei ka tono ko ngā hē Māu…

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  • Using Citizen Media Tools to Promote Under-Represented Languages

    I gladly accepted an invitation to participate as a practitioner for the on-line dialogue on Using Citizen Media Tools to Promote Under-Represented Languages from November 16 to 22, 2011 from New Tactics http://www.newtactics.org . I am writing this post in the hope to raise more publicity of this key initiative which will allow anyone with a…

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  • A decade of free Māori Language software

    It is hard to believe that a decade ago I nervously released Te Ngutu Kura Māori Spell Checker for Windows: then just last week I released version 3 with over 58,000 words for a wide range of applications and systems. It was about 12 years ago I created Moana Kupu Māori spell checker, which is…

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  • Māori macron urban myths

    Macrons can be simply created with Māori keyboards available for all computer and smart phone systems. No longer does the need to press multiple keys to create a macron exist, despite the many articles which suggest otherwise. As an advocate and developer of macron technologies for more than 12 years: I am shocked that so many articles…

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  • Google Maori

    Google Maori

    Google Māori is still in dire need of translations to complete its user interface in Māori language. The statistics below show that many parts of Google are still 100% English. Contrary to popular belief, anyone with a Gmail account, can begin translating Google into Māori. You do not have to commit to plethora of translations,…

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  • Te Ngutu Kura Mac OSX

    Te Ngutu Kura Mac OSX

    Te Ngutu Kura Macintosh download has been updated with relevant information to OSX. While Te Ngutu Kura does not directly offer the software, there is a link to the Hawai’i keyboard with creates macrons. Considering the small market for Māori language software and the fact that Hawai’i also use macrons. I felt that it was…

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  • Māori language txtn suggestions

    If you are reo txt’a, send thru the kupu or how you create the txt Mri or txt them thru to 027 845 7200 so they can include in the reo txt list below, and in the Papakupu project. Txtn in te reo Māori is not a new phenomenon and has been developing over the…

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  • Genre Specific Māori Dictionaries

    Genre Specific Māori Dictionaries

    A discussion about the reason why Māori Dictionaries should stop being genre specific and be more inclusive of all Māori words. I use loan words as an example here. As a child who was brought up with te reo Māori (including Te Karere Māori News) in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I heard a…

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  • Do we need a new Māori Dictionary

    It may appear that this Papakupu project has arisen out of nowhere, but the truth is that the original idea began over 16 years ago as a budding young IT probie. I was the architect and builder of Te Reo Tupu Māori dictionary (now known as Reo Tupu). Many said Te Reo Tupu is and…

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  • Is it only the rich who can afford to learn Māori?

    Is it only the rich who can afford to learn Māori?

    There are many published Māori Dictionaries, some general and others specialised that much tax payers money is consumed funding the creation of multiple resources of which many have major cross over in terms of words and definitions. The Papakupu project has referenced over 200 various dictionaries and glossaries. The Canterbury Public Library online book catalogue…

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  • New Māori Language Dictionary

    I am working on a new Māori Dictionary that will revolutionise the way we think of, and use Māori Language Dictionaries.

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  • Technologically correct macrons

    Creating umlauts for macrons is no longer acceptable and is an outdated practice. Free and supported macron software is available on the web and should be installed.

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  • Introduction to macrons in NZ web addresses

    Introduction to macrons in NZ web addresses

    With the introduction of the 5 Māori macrons in .nz web addresses at the end of July this year, there has been little Domain Name registrar attention with most simply choosing not to advertise the fact that it is possible to register such names. There has also been little media attention to the fact that…

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  • Google Translate Toolkit Translates into Māori language

    Google Translate Toolkit Translates into Māori language

    Google announced today. It was made possible by Dr Te Taka Keegan of the University of Waikato while on secondment to Google. Google Translate Toolkit is a translation tool that is edited by humans not automated by computers such as Google Translate. Google Toolkit relies on the community to add words and translations. It then…

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  • LinkedIn te reo Māori profiles

    A number of months ago the professional networking site LinkedIn announced the ability to offer multilingual professional profiles via a set of existing languages and custom language options. The task is simple and can be used for any language in the world no matter how small the language population may be. Bilingual profiles in English…

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  • Twitter in Te Reo Māori

    Twitter in Te Reo Māori

    Twitter today announced that it would offer Twitter interface in multiple languages with other languages to be offered in the future. Currently Twitter is available in two languages English and Japanese. Twitter are calling for volunteers to assist with translating Twitter into French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The Twitter team have made it clear that…

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  • 10 Suggestions to assist the process to have FaceBook Translated into Māori

    For many years there have always been small groups of people fighting for what they believe is a natural right – to have software and online services presented in Māori. Most groups are short lived while others achieve results, often in a modest fashion. One-day translation issues and will not be an issue, it will…

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  • Māori macrons in domain names are now available

    Recently and with minimal media attention in New Zealand and the Pacific, the ability to write non English characters into Web addresses became a reality for many of the worlds popular extensions such as .com, .org, .net, .tv and so on. Thus giving Māori the ability to correctly spell macron Māori words in web addresses,…

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  • FaceBook allows macrons and non English Characters in names

    Many Māori and Pacific Peoples use alternative names to their birth names, often adopting an English name to be known by outside of the family. This is also a common practice with many non English speaking cultures in Asia. FaceBook.com in their quest to recognise the multilingual world we live in, today announced a new…

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  • macrons on iPhone

    I am investigating how to create macrons the iPhone.  I must admit to feeling like i have gone back 13 and more years in my career to the days when i worked on macron technology for web sites and the PC. Thankfully a task that is now simple and requires little cognition. Like the old days ASCII…

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  • Google Chrome

    Google Chrome

    Google have released their own web browser. It is called Google Chrome. I am writing this blog using Google chrome as my browser. For the last few days the international media have been busy discussing Google Chrome and reviewing it. So i will just make a quick observation that i find it visually appealing with…

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  • 13 Years of Māori Language integration into software and the Internet

    13 Years of Māori Language integration into software and the Internet

    13 years ago when i started out in the ICT industry there were no Māori software products, writing a macron was impossible, and as hard as this is to believe now, only two Māori web sites existed. There was no .iwi.nz nor .maori.nz and no corpus of Māori computer terminology, not even for the word…

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  • Google Māori launches

    Google Māori launches

    Google Māori is accessed via the google.co.nz page. Alas, do I note that there are still macrons missing on the word “Māori”. It is refreshing to see it finally go live after the several years it took to get there. One important thing i have noticed that nobody has mentioned, is that there is still…

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  • Google Māori

    Google Māori

    This morning i was informed that the Google Māori translation project is beginning to be rolled out and available at http://www.google.com/intl/mi/ . This site is still in English at the time of writing. So i imagine there is a roll out plan as with any newly developed system. There is also a small (up to…

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  • Māori macrons in web addresses – IDNS

    Tonight the DNC public submission period on implementing IDN’s in the .nz space closed. Public submissions can be read here http://www.dnc.org.nz/story/30294-29-1.html . It concerns me that some organisations have such a closed mind of the Internet. The Internet and the DNS is not a New Zealand only technology, but an international technology. From my quick…

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  • Māori Language Domain Names

    First published in 2006 as a pdf. Republished in 2023. Introduction Māori Language web addresses or as they are known globally “Internationalized Domain Name” (IDN) is a domain name or Web address, represented by local language characters. In the case of Māori Language it represents macron characters in Internet addresses. An example of this is…

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