MAORI LANGUAGE

Formal Structure

The Maori alphabet is very restricted, consisting of 15 letters: h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, a, e, i, o, u, wh, ng. These letters can be classified into:

1. Eight consonants, h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w.

2. Two digraphs, wh, and ng, which may be included with the consonants.

3. Five vowels, a, e, i, o, u.

• MAORI LANGUAGE

• Creating a Written Language

• Parts of Speech

• Formal Structure

• Pronunciation

• Vowels and Digraphs

• Marking Vowels

• Prefixes

• Transliteration

• Preservation of Classical Maori

• Genealogy – Whakapapa

• Songs

• Dialectical Differences

• Some Present-day Observations: Vocabulary

• Teaching of the Maori Language

Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.