New zealand english

Powerpoint about New Zealand accent.

1. NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH
MªCamí Testagorda Aldomà

2. Contents:
1.Introduction
2.Socio-Historical Background
3.Current situation of English and other
languages
4.Phonological, grammatical and lexical traits
5.Main well-known promoters of NZ English

3. 1. Introduction
New Zealand lies in the South Pacific over 1000km
southeast of Australia
It is about twice the size of England and smaller in area
than Australia
It consists of two islands (the North and South)
Its population is around three million people.
The 90 % of the New Zealanders are of British origin
New Zealand has 4 major cities:
Wellington
Auckland
Christchurch
Dunedin

4. 1. Introduction

5. 2. Socio-Historical Background
The history of New Zealand dates back 700 years
Around 1250-1300 AD NZ was occupied by
Polynesian people from Eastern Polynesia: Maori
Before that, there is evidence of previous indigenous
people: Moriori
Maori developed their own culture with their
language, mythology and traditions.
In 1642 the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman and his crew
tried to land in New Zealand

6. 2. Socio-Historical Background
Tasman is the first European to sight New Zealand
and he called it “Nieuw Zeeland” after a Dutch
province.
The British navigator, James Cook sailed around the
two islands in 1769-70.
First time English arrived in New Zealand.
Following Cook, the country was constantly visited
by European sailors, explorers, adventurers, etc.
In the early 19th Century English speaking migrants
arrived in New Zealand
English became the second language spoken in New
Zealand

7. 2. Socio-Historical Background
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840:
Marked the beginning of a new nation.
The Maori ceded sovereignty to Britain but retaining much
of their land.
created the foundation for British colonial rule in New
Zealand.
English passed to be the first language spoken.
Britain dominated New Zealand in the 19th Century.
New Zealand began to prosper and by the first half of
the 20th Century it was a small but wealthy country
tied to Britain by trade, family connections and
loyalty to the British Crown.

8. 3. Current situation of English and
other languages
New Zealand English is the major language spoken in
New Zealand
3 official languages in NZ: English, Maori and New
Zealand Sign Language.
English is almost the only language spoken in public
domains.
English is spoken by 95.9 percent of people.
English language was established by the British
colonists during the 19th Century.

9. 3. Current situation of English and
other languages
Where did this accent come from?
 It is a version of 19th Century Cockney (lower-
class London) speech
It is a version of Australian English
It has developed independently from all the other
varieties and it is a mixture of accents and dialects
that the British settlers brought with them.

10. 3. Current situation of English and
other languages
Maori was present in New Zealand before the
European settlement.
Maori Language Act in 1987
Nowadays, Maori is rarely spoken in general public
communication
It is only spoken by the 4.1 percent of the people in
New Zealand.
there has been revitalization initiatives since 1980.

11. 3. Current situation of English and
other languages
New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) it is the main
language of the deft community in New Zealand.
NZ the first country in the world to adopt a sign
language as official in April 2006.
It has its roots in British Sign Language (BSL)
Other languages being spoken in New Zealand with
often relatively small speech communities. Samoan,
Northern Chinese (Mandarin) and Yue (Cantonese)

12. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
Phonology:
New Zealand English is very like Australian English
Non-rothic
Shifted (diphthongised) long vowels
Raised front vowels
Vowels:
NZE centralized pronunciation / / of as the phoneme schwa
ɪ
/ə/

e.g., : “finish” [f ə n ə sh]
front vowels are raised as in Australian English
/ / even higher to [ ] not just [e] e.g., “neck” as [n k]
ɛ ɪ ɪ
The short -a /æ/ of TRAP is approximately / /, which sounds like
ɛ
the short -e of YES to other English speakers.

13. extreme rounding of /3:/ (NURSE) to [œ:]
E.g., “turn” as [thœ:n]
The diphthongs / ə/ as in ”
ɪ
near” and /eə/ as
in ”square” are merged, so that ”here” rhymes
with ”there”.
/i:/ and /u:/ not diphthongized, instead centralized to [ɨ] and
[ʉ]
Consonants:
NZE is mostly non-rothic
The /l/ is dark in all positions [ ]
ɫ
l-vocalization can be accompanied by phonemic merges of
vowels before the vocalized /l/
E.g.: (“tool” as [thu: ], “
ɫ
real” as [ w] )
ɹɪ
4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits

14. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
Grammar:
generally similar to Australian English
avoidance of “shall” / “should” almost as in Scottish
English (“Will I close the window”)
The form of “He usedn’t to go” is common.
The auxiliary do is not used in tag questions instead should
or ought are used (“shouldn’t he?, oughtn’t he?”)
The use of have in expressing possession as in “I have a
new car” is less usual than the use of got “I have got new
car”

15. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
New Zealand has a nonstandard secondperson
‐ ‐
plural form youse (alternatively spelled <yous>)
She’ll be right is easily recognized as a central part
of New Zealand philosophy, but who is she?

16. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
Characteristic vocabulary
distinctive English vocabulary:
“tramping” (hiking)
 “to farewell” (to say good-bye to),
“to jack up” (arrange),
“joker” (guy, bloke)
“domain” (recreation area)
“to uplift” (to collect, to pick up)
“to go crook at” (be angry with)
 “bach” (cabin, cottage)

17. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
shared with Australian English:
“barrack for” (give support to)
“crook” (bad)
“dill” (fool)
 “chook” (chicken)
“dunny” (lavatory)
“informal vote” (invalid vote)

18. 4. Phonological, grammatical and
lexical traits
adoptions from Maori and other Polynesian languages:
“mana” (prestige, power)
“aue” (expression of astonishment)
 “haere mai” ( a greeting)
“haka” (posture dance)
“pakeha” (white New Zealander”)
“tapu” (sacred)
 “aiga” (Samoan “extended family”)

19. 5. Main well-known promoters of
New Zealand English
How can we promote a language?
Singers:
New Zealand Music Month
A promotion to encourage radio to play more local
tune
A 31 day celebration of homegrown talent across
the length and breadth of the county
Tono & The Finance Company
Sing in New Zealand accent

20. 5. Main well-known promoters of
New Zealand English
Actors:
New Zealand Theatre
Bruce Mason’s ‘The Pohutukawa Tree’
It deals with New Zealand issues.

21. Thank You For Your Attention!!