Commentary and free digital resources that promote and normalise the Māori language including spell checkers, dictionaries and mew terminology.
This week Google Maps began rolling out a New Zealand voice that pronounces te reo Māori place names correctly. Place name Whangārei with the soft “f” sound from an New Zealand dialect, Taupō with the long vowel, Karangahape Road spoken as it was named by our tūpuna, not as decades of navigation systems and generations … Read more
A quick snapshot of the usage of the Māori language in the New Zealand Artificial Intelligence communities, while also celebrating The Māori Language Week for 2025. Translations for Artificial Intelligence There are a number of Māori words that are used to say Artificial Intelligence in the Māori language. The reason there are so many is … Read more
I have over the years shared some mātauranga Māori and compared it to AI, I am hoping to revive our pre traditional practices of using pepeha, moemoea, waiata, oriori and other oral preservation and learning resources to assist Māori to understand AI is a powerful tool. Despite Māori being at the crossroads of new digital … Read more
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) … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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.
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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.
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. … Read more
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 … Read more