He Pātaka Kupu wins Montana Book Award

28 July 2009

Media Release

He Pātaka Kupu wins Montana Book Award

He Pātaka Kupu, the monolingual Māori language dictionary published by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) last year, has won the Māori Language category of the Montana Book Awards.

Chief Executive for Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Huhana Rokx says receiving this acknowledgement from New Zealand’s preeminent book award platform is momentous.

“He Pātaka Kupu is a significant milestone in the history of the Māori language. It draws together the expert contributions of Māori language scholars and academics, collated over several years, to capture the essence of the Māori language as it is spoken and written. The results of their work will benefit proficient Māori speakers and language learners alike”, says Huhana Rokx.

The idea of a monolingual Māori language dictionary for adults was mooted in the early 1990s in discussions between Tīmoti Kāretu (the Chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori at that time), kaumātua, and experts in the collection of lexicon. The vision of the project was to create a rich lexicon of the contemporary Māori language, described in its own culturally authentic terms and supported by the latest corpus technology to ensure its longevity.

The dictionary is the culmination of seven years work from a team of dedicated writers. He Pātaka Kupu is 1,200 pages and has 24,000 entries which include synonyms, tribal variants and some of the more recent developments in Māori language.

He Pātaka Kupu is one of the largest monolingual dictionaries ever to be published in the Pacific, and is the largest of its size and genre to be published in New Zealand.

“Languages grow and evolve from generation to generation. New words are constantly being added to the lexicon of the Māori language. For all speakers and supporters of the Māori language, He Pātaka Kupu provides a strong foundation for continued developments. He reo tipu, he reo ora”, says Huhana Rokx.

Te Reo

Te 28 o Hōngongoi 2009

He Pānui Pāpāho

Kua wini i a He Pātaka Kupu tētahi o ngā tohu a Montana

Kua wini i a He Pātaka Kupu, te papakupu kei te reo Māori katoa ōna kōrero i whakaputaina e Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i tērā tau, te tohu mō te wāhanga reo Māori a Montana.

Ki tā te tumuaki o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, a Huhana Rokx, he mea nui whakaharahara tēnei whakamihi mai a ngā whakawhiwhinga pukapuka rangatira katoa o Aotearoa nei.

Hei tā Huhana, “He mea nui whakaharahara a “He Pātaka Kupu i roto i ngā hītori mō te reo Māori. Ko tā te papakupu nei he rukuruku mai i ngā kohinga kōrero a rātou mā o roto i ngā ngahurutanga tau, kia mau ai te ngako o te reo Māori i kōrerotia, i tuhia e rātou i te wā ki a rātou. He āwhina nui kei tā rātou i tuhi ai, i kī ai hei whakapakari i te hunga matatau me te hunga kātahi tonu ka tīmata te whai i te reo”.

I tipu ake te whakaaro mō tētahi papakupu reo kotahi mō te reo Māori mā te hunga pakeke, i ngā tau 1990, i te kōrero tahi a Tīmoti Kāretu (te Toihau o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i taua wā), a ētahi kaumātua, me ētahi mātanga kohikohi kupu. Ko te wawata ia ko te hanga i tētahi kohinga kupu hei whakaahua i te ao hou, ka tiki atu ai i aua kupu i te ao Māori tūturu, ka whakatinana ai ki ngā hangarau o te ao hou kia ora ai mō ake tonu atu.

E whitu tau te papakupu nei e tuhia ana e tōna anō kōiti o rangapū. 1,200 ngā whārangi o He Pātaka Kupu, e 24,000 ngā kupu matua, ngā aronga rānei o te kupu, kua takoto mai anō ngā kupu taurite, ngā kupu ā-iwi me ētahi o ngā kupu kua hangā i roto i ēnei tau nei.

Ko He Pātaka Kupu te papakupu reo kotahi nui katoa kua tāia puta noa i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, ka mutu ko ia anō te papakupu rahi katoa o tōna momo, kua tāia i Aotearoa nei.

Hei tā Huhana Rokx, “Ko tēnei mea te reo he tipu tonu, he tipu tonu mai i tētahi reanga ki tētahi. Ka tāpiria tonuhia he kupu hou ki ērā atu kupu. Ka noho tonu a He Pātaka Kupu hei tūāpapa pakari tonu mō ngā kupu hou ka hangaia haere ake nei, hei tautoko ake i te hunga kōrero, i te hunga tautoko i te reo Māori”. Hei tā Huhana anō, “Ko te reo tipu, he reo ora”.

KA MUTU

ENDS

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