Random Update

Somehow with having to work for a living again I'm failing to keep up the blog. I'm sure my army, or possibly small gaggle of readers (now doubtless reduced by my choice of collective noun) are sorely disappointed. I often think of possible topics to address and just as quickly forget them, so you'll get what is on my mind right now. Wanganui has managed to get on the news of late here for all the wrong reasons which I'll address in the next post. In this one I'll look at the more universal issue of language.

New Zealand is a bilingual country with English and Maori, but not in the sense of Wales with it's dual road signs or Quebec with its uneasy relationship with the rest of Canada. Here most place names are in Maori (tough for the newcomer), at least in the North Island while Maori language is used in reference to Maori activities and concepts (whether it be meetings, cultural activities, relationships, values etc) especially where these are maintained in a separate and distinctive way. However pretty much all mainstream life is conducted in English. This means that my exposure to the spoken language is minimal, though I think Tracy encounters it more.

In some ways for me it's like the exposure an English speaking lowlander gets to Gaelic in Scotland (though the Maori culture remains more vibrant, distinct and widespread than that of Gaelic speakers now). It's all over the maps of much of the country, it's useful for describing history and culture and is heard in artistic presentations. But you are not going to pick up much by way of colloquial use. There's no denying that it's a beautiful and lyrical tongue though, even when rendered by Pakeha newsreaders.

The effort to remember popular NZ slang dredges up a few favorites:

crook - having some physical ailment in a usefully non-specific way: "I'm a bit crook" seems to cover everything from a mild cold to being about dead.

heaps - general word for "a lot"covering times the Brits might use lots, loads, tons etc.

And a couple of more specific favorites:

chilly-bin - cooler or cool box

judder-bar - sleeping policemen (always one of the stranger british phrases I always thought) or speed bump

Tracy adds "sweet as" meaning great and I'm sure a linguist could work on how the use of "eh" at the end of a sentence varies between NZ, Canada and the Dakotas.

I do have one question. If eskimos are supposed to have heaps of words for snow (is this true or a grand myth?) and Scots certainly describe rain in a multiplicity of ways, why do they not have more words for sheep inNZ?!