One macron and the Māori language stands tall

Pānui Pāpāho| News Release 9 Mahuru|September |2019

Kotahi te tohutō: E tū rangatira ana te reo Māori

E mihi ana Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori ki te uniana E tū me te Tari Kamupene i tāpiri i te tohutō ki te ingoa rēhita o E Tū.

Kei te nuku whakamua Te Tari Kamupene me tā rātou hōtaka whakahou i te tuhinga o ngā ingoa rēhita Māori mā te whakamahinga o te katoa o te arapū reo Māori.

Hei tā Ngahiwi Apanui, te tumuaki o te Kōmihana, he mea nui i āta kōrero a E Tū ki Te Tari Kamupene kia mana ai te reo Māori, ā i mihi nui anō hoki i te urupare a Te Tari Kamupene.

“Tino tika rawa atu a E tū’ hei ingoa mō tētahi uniana, ā kua rongonui taua ingoa huri noa.

“He oro ‘roa’, he oro ‘poto’ anō hoki tō te arapū reo Māori (a,e,i,o,u me ā,ē,ī,ō,ū). I te tuhinga reo Māori mā ēnei oro e rerekē ai te tikanga o te kupu: kākā - ‘parrot’; kakā - red hot, kaka - a garment.

“Ko te tikanga o E tū - ‘stand up’. Kāore he tikanga o ‘E tu’.

“Kei te putaputa tonu ētahi take tuhi reo Māori mai i te whakamahinga o ngā pūnaha roro hiko ā-reo kē, ā me whakamahere ngā tari e tika ai ēnei tū āhua. Me te mōhio anō hoki kāore e whakatauhia tēnei take i te mēneti kotahi, ā kei te tika hoki te mahere a Te Tari Kamupene. Ko te wawata ka whakanui tahi mātou me te Tari Kamupene i te eke panukutanga o te kaupapa nei.” The Māori Language Commission congratulates E tū union and the Companies Office on the addition of a tohutō (macron) to their name as registered by the Office.

The Companies Office is pushing ahead with a programme to modernise the spelling of any Māori name used in its registers by ensuring the full Māori alphabet can be used.

The Chief Executive of the Commission Ngahiwi Apanui says its great that E tū engaged with the Companies Office to ensure the status of te reo Māori is upheld and also welcomed the Companies Office response.

“E tū’ was a brilliant choice of name for the union and became widely used and known almost instantly.

“The modern Māori alphabet has both ‘long’ and ‘short’ vowels (a,e,I,o,u and ā,ē,ī,ō,ū). In written Māori the difference can change the meaning: kākā means ‘parrot’; kakā is to be red hot and kaka is a garment.

“E tū means ‘stand up’. ‘E tu’ doesn’t mean anything.

“There are still problems with Māori spelling resulting from the use of foreign coding in computer systems and every agency needs a plan to fix it. We know it’s not instant, and the Companies Office is doing the right thing by solving the problem in a planned way. We hope to be celebrating success with the Office soon”.

ends

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