Moriori dialect facts for kids

The Moriori language was a special way of speaking, like a dialect, of the Māori language. It was the native language of the Moriori people. They are the original people of New Zealand's Chatham Islands. These islands are called Rēkohu in Moriori. They are a group of islands located to the east of New Zealand's South Island.

History of the Moriori Language

First European Contact

The Chatham Islands were first visited by Europeans on November 29, 1791. This was when William R. Broughton from Great Britain landed there. He claimed the islands for Britain and named them after his ship, HMS Chatham. Some of Broughton's crew members married Moriori women.

Challenges for the Moriori People

In 1835, the Moriori people faced a very difficult time. Invaders from the Māori tribes arrived on the Chatham Islands. This event greatly harmed the Moriori people and their culture. Many Moriori people did not survive these invasions.

Those who did survive faced harsh conditions. Some were forced to become slaves. Moriori people were not allowed to marry each other or have children. This made it very hard for their population to grow. It also put their language in great danger. By 1863, only 101 Moriori people were left out of about 2000 who had survived earlier.

Saving the Language

The invasion from the Taranaki region of New Zealand had a huge impact. It affected the Moriori population, their way of life, and their language. By the 1870s, only a few people still spoke Moriori.

However, some efforts were made to record the language. Samuel Deighton, who worked on the Chathams from 1873 to 1891, collected Moriori words. He wrote down their meanings in Māori and English. This list of words was later published in a book called Moriori: A People Rediscovered by Michael King.

Modern Revival Efforts

In 2000, the language was brought back to life for a film. This was for Barry Barclay's documentary The Feathers of Peace. The film showed how the Moriori first met European settlers (Pākehā) and Māori.

Since 2001, the Moriori people have been working to bring their language back. This is part of a bigger effort to revive their culture. They have created a collection of Moriori words. There is also an online database of Moriori words called POLLEX. You can even find a language app for Android phones to learn Moriori.

The 2006 New Zealand census showed that 945 people identified as Moriori. This was a big increase from only 35 people in the 1901 census. This shows a growing interest in their heritage.

Moriori Alphabet

The Moriori alphabet uses letters similar to English, but some sounds are different.

• a - [a] (like the 'a' in 'father')
• e - [ɛ] (like the 'e' in 'bed')
• i - [i] (like the 'ee' in 'see')
• o - [ɔ] (like the 'o' in 'bought')
• u - [u] (like the 'oo' in 'moon')
• ā - [aː] (a longer 'a' sound)
• ē - [ɛː] (a longer 'e' sound)
• ī - [iː] (a longer 'i' sound)
• ō - [ɔː] (a longer 'o' sound)
• ū - [uː] (a longer 'u' sound)
• p - [p]
• t - [t]
• k - [k]
• m - [m]
• n - [n]
• ng - [ŋ] (like the 'ng' in 'sing')
• wh - [ɸ] (a sound made by blowing air through the lips)
• h - [h]
• w - [w]
• r - [r]

Comparing Moriori with Māori

The Moriori language has some interesting differences from the Māori language. For example:

• The word a in Moriori is e in Māori.
• Ka in Moriori is ki in Māori.
• Eriki (meaning lord or chief) in Moriori is ariki in Māori.
• Reimata (meaning tear) in Moriori is roimata in Māori.
• Wihine (meaning woman) in Moriori is wahine in Māori.

Sometimes, a vowel sound is dropped before or after a consonant in Moriori. This creates a "closed syllable" (a syllable ending in a consonant). For example:

• Na instead of ena
• Ha instead of aha
• Rangat instead of rangata
• Nawen instead of nawene
• Hok instead of hoki
• Or instead of oro
• Mot instead of motu

This dropping of sounds is similar to how some Southern dialects of Māori are spoken. Sometimes, a vowel is also dropped if the vowel before it becomes longer. Or, a vowel might be dropped before another vowel, making the remaining vowel longer.

Also, the sounds [k], [h], and [t] can sometimes be pronounced with extra breath or a slight 'y' sound. An example is Motchuhar instead of Motuhara.

See also

In Spanish: Idioma moriori para niños