Māori Influence
Many local everyday words have been borrowed from the Māori language, including words for local flora, fauna, place names and the natural environment.
The dominant influence of Māori on New Zealand English is lexical. A 1999 estimate based on the Wellington corpora of written and spoken New Zealand English put the proportion of words of Māori origin at approximately 0.6%, mostly place and personal names.
The everyday use of Maori words, usually colloquial, occurs most prominently among youth, young adults and Maori populations. Examples include words like "kia ora" ("hello"), or "kai" ("food") which almost all New Zealanders know.
Māori is ever present and has a significant conceptual influence in the legislature, government, and community agencies (e.g. health and education), where legislation requires that proceedings and documents are translated into Māori (under certain circumstances, and when requested). Political discussion and analysis of issues of sovereignty, environmental management, health, and social well-being thus rely on Māori at least in part. Māori as a spoken language is particularly important wherever community consultation occurs.
Read more about this topic: New Zealand English
Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“What do women want with votes, when they hold the sceptre of influence with which they can control even votes, if they wield it aright?”
—Mrs. H. O. Ward (1824–1899)