Keeping it Clear for those New to New Zealand

4 august 2016

Eliminating the Yeah Nahs - Keeping it Clear for those New to New Zealand

For those new to New Zealand the quality of the information they receive as they settle into their new life here can make all the difference as to whether they stay in New Zealand or take their skills elsewhere.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has produced a new guide “Keeping it Clear” to help organisations present their information to those new to New Zealand in such a way that it is easily understood.

“Moving to live and work in a new country involves finding out a great deal of information that locals simply take for granted. New Zealand organisations are very good at providing those new to New Zealand with information, however the information provided is not always written or presented in a user friendly way,” says Judi Altinkaya, INZ’s National Manager, Settlement.

Keeping it Clear aims to address this by providing organisations with background explanations and tips to follow when they are communicating with people new to New Zealand.

These include keeping language short and simple, active and direct and avoiding idioms and ‘kiwi-isms’.

“We don’t realise that there are more than 25,000 idioms in the English language and we liberally scatter them through most information. These are extremely hard for new speakers of English to understand,” Ms Altinkaya says. “They can be the difference between a newcomer acting on information or ignoring it.

“Similar are the Kiwi expressions that we think nothing of, but can have migrants, even from other English speaking countries, scratching their heads in confusion. Yeah, Nah… Absolutely!

“If those new to New Zealand have all the information they need in a clear and easily digestible form then their settlement journey becomes a much smoother one.”

Keeping It Clear can be viewed at www.immigration.govt.nz/keepingitclear

For further information contact 0274 422 141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz

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