Newly-added words include koha – a gift or offering – and kōrero, meaning a conversation or chat
New Zealanders will now see the common and casual te reo Māori greeting Kia ora e hoa! – meaning “hi mate” – in their Oxford English Dictionaries, as the institution moves to recognise the “profound and lasting impact” the Indigenous tongue has had on New Zealand’s language.
While some te reo words already appear in the volume, the change reflects “the substantial number of Māori words that have become part of the vocabulary of both Māori and Pākehā English speakers,” according to a statement from Oxford University Press, the dictionary’s publisher.Newly added words that New Zealanders might hear or use in daily life include koha – a gift or offering – and kōrero, meaning a conversation or chat .
Phrases such as “kia ora e hoa” are frequently used by non-Māori, and are increasingly common in shops or businesses, or to answer phone calls or emails. “The fact that we have more and more Māori words appearing, which is what the OED changes are reflecting, captures the shifts in national and social identity in New Zealand and who we are as a nation,” said John Macalister, a professor of applied linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington and the dictionary’s consultant on the etymology of Māori.
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