The Kiwi Language & Accent
11:18 AM
While both the US and New Zealand are former
colonies of England, the English language in each country has taken different
paths. American English has diverted further
from British English than Kiwi English. This
could be a result of either the American idea that we must be different at
everything or from the fact that New Zealand was not legislatively independent
of England until 1947. Thus, Kiwi
English has had less time to divert from the motherland. In the last 70 years, the Kiwis, aka the New
Zealanders, have found a way to make English their own. Here are some Kiwi spellings and words I
encountered. By no means is this an exhaustive list:
U.S.
/ New Zealand
meter /
metre
favorite
/ favourite
Mom / mum
program
/ programme
organization
/ organisation
They
also talk about morning and afternoon tea as their breaks.
rappelling
/ abseiling
Trash can / rubbish bin
So far,
not too different from England.
Sweet / sweet as
I
didn’t understand why they didn’t finish the comparison.
seam
ripper / unpicker
Because
seam ripper is too violent.
eraser
/ rubber
trunk (car) / boot
z (alphabet) / zed
(pronunciation)
Radio advertisements
would say “dot-CO-dot-N-Zed” for a website.
Later, I listened to my host-dad say that the last letter is “zed” when
spelling to saying a URL. He would
correct me or give me a dad look when I said “zee.” One night when he was tired after a long day
at work, he yawned, stretched his arms, and said that he needed to “catch-up on
some ‘zee’s.’”
Almost instantly I
respond, “You cannot pick and choose what to call the last letter of the
alphabet if you are going to make fun of me when I say it.”
“It sounds weird saying ‘catching up
on zed’s.’”
“I know.”
One of the reasons I liked my
host-dad was that we could tease each other for a good laugh.
bill
(currency) / note
My host-mom had sound logic in my
opinion: “Bills come in the mail, and nobody wants them.” Why call our money the very thing that takes
it away?
College or university / uni
The
New Zealand equivalency of high school is called “college.” All undergraduate degrees are earned at
universities.
hiking
/ tramping
I asked my host-sister to not say
that in the States.
meeting
/ hook-up
This synonym was used in the
workplace and nothing weird happened.
zipline
/ flying fox
I don’t understand this one.
What
(as in you didn't hear what someone said) / pardon
These
people are so polite!
Sandals
/ Jandals
In
Australia, they call those sandals (flip flops) thongs.
Ground
beef / minced beef
How Kiwis
said "minced" sounds a lot like “mint” to me. Needless to say, I was very confused and
concerned until I was corrected.
French
Fries / chips
How does one distinguish the type of
potato now?!
ketch-up
/ tomato sauce
cooler
/ chilly bin
Jell-O
/ jelly
jelly /
jam
I was corrected many times; Kiwis
are particular about their JAMS.
I was
very upset to learn that New Zealand does not have grape jelly! I think I found every other possible jelly
and orange marmalade. Grapes are basically
only used for wines and juices in New Zealand.
To become one with the Kiwis, I tried to imitate the
Kiwi accent since the best form of flattery is imitation. Sadly, I was only able to sound like a Kiwi
for 5 seconds before I would again sound like a foreigner. In words like "garage" and “massage,”
where Americans say the first a like
a short u, Kiwis say it as a long a. Changing the a sound in those words felt weird.
Also, we have been saying Rutherford incorrectly. I have forgotten which way is correct, but
the difference lies in the u. Warning: Kiwis get offended if you say their
accent is Australian.
Last but not least, the native language of the
early Polynesian settlers, the Māori, is incorporated into New Zealand
culture. According to Wikipedia, the
three official languages of New Zealand are English, Māori, and New Zealand
Sign Language. Māori translations are on
traffic signs and monuments. The names
of some businesses are in Māori. Food such as “sweet potatoes” are advertised as kumura. Some
Māori words like whānau for “family” and Kia ora for “Hello” are common to
hear.
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And don’t ask for a napkin at a restaurant. It’s a serviette. I got the funniest looks when I asked. They kept saying Pardon?
And don’t ask for a napkin at a restaurant. It’s a serviette. I got the funniest looks when I asked. They kept saying Pardon?
Kelsey did you ever say anything that got you in trouble? Also, how is New Zealand's view of Britain different than ours? Do Kiwis dislike Brits? :)