Word: piripi
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...Pakeha (European) to whanau (extended family). It's giving them English inflections (moko-ed for tattooed; haka-ing for dancing), and playing with them to create hybrids like maka-chilly (from makariri, cold). "You can't get far these days without having to use a Maori word," says Haami Piripi, chief executive of the Maori Language Commission, which promotes the use of te reo. It's a heartening trend, he says: "If words aren't spoken, they don't live" - and 20 years ago, Maori was dying. What worries Piripi and other cultural gatekeepers is that even as it gives...
...Pleased as he is that English speakers are embracing Maori, Piripi fears that some are squeezing it out of shape. His Language Commission has had a long, and so far losing, argument with newspapers that insist on anglicizing Maori words - adding s to mark the plural, for example. Pronunciation is another disputed point. It's said Kiwis have 11 different ways of saying "Maori," from the hackle-raising "Mayo-ree" to the correct "Mow-rri." "New Zealanders have a long way to go in terms of pronunciation," says Piripi. "Really, 200 years of occupation without achieving five simple vowel sounds...