Story: Speech and accent

Māori English

One form of New Zealand English increasingly heard is Māori English. Distinctive features of Māori English are the High Rising Terminal, where the tone is high at the end of a statement, the use of 'eh' at the end of a sentence and front pronunciation of the GOOSE vowel. Watch these clips from the 2010 film Boy to hear Māori English in use.

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How to cite this page:

Elizabeth Gordon, 'Speech and accent - Variation within New Zealand English', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/40142/maori-english (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Elizabeth Gordon, published 5 Sep 2013