Do you know that the other name of New Zealand is Māori Aotearoa? It is an island country which is situated in the South Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is a remote land and one of its neighboring countries is Australia. It has two main islands, North and South Island that further contain several small islands. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. Moreover, the largest urban area in Auckland. Both cities are located on the North Island.
Culture and Linguistic Diversity in NewZealand
New Zealand has a very diverse culture. This is because many people from the Pacific, East Asia, and South Asia have migrated to New Zealand resulting in making the culture more vibrant and diverse. Of course, people who migrated to New Zealand also brought their language and culture with them. Do you know that New Zealand is the only country in the world that has given sign language the status of an official language? The other official language of this country is Te Reo Māori. Although the English proficiency of the people living in New Zealand is high, still it is not their official language. Non-English speakers can get assistance from English translation services to communicate with Kiwis.
English
Do you know that 96% of New Zealand’s population speaks English? The sign boards in the public language are also in the English language. Moreover teaching in school and all the administrative work of the government is done in this language. The important thing to note is that the English that people speak in New Zealand is quite similar to the vocabulary and pronunciation of English that people speak in Australia. To differentiate the difference between the two variants of English, professional English translation services can be of great help. One of the main differences is the pronunciation of the letter e. In New Zealand, e is pronounced with i so pen will be pronounced as pin
Māori
The other name of this language is Te Reo. In 1987, this language became the official language of New Zealand. Until the 19th century, it was the most spoken language in New Zealand. During the time, when English-speaking people started migrating to New Zealand, the English language was introduced in written form. However, when the European people started leaving the country the number of Maori speakers started to decline. This was an alarming situation. Therefore, in the 1980s, the government of New Zealand thought of reviving this language. For this reason, they write the sign boards all over New Zealand in the Maori language too. If you are planning to visit New Zealand then Maori translation services can help you in traveling the country without any communication barrier.
People globally know this language. But when you talk about the Maori language, not many people know it. I am not aware of this language but when I started researching languages spoken in New Zealand I came to know about this language.
If you want to explore the rich history of New Zealand then you must take assistance from professional Maori translation services. The official language provides a clear understanding of the cultures of the country.
Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language is an imperative part of the country’s diverse culture. It helps the deaf community of New Zealand to communicate with different gestures. The important thing to note is that Sign language has been used in New Zealand for centuries. People started using this when European people started to reside there. Therefore, it has taken many loan signs from British sign language and Australian sign language and come up with its new unique style. The organization that is supporting NZSL in the country is the Deaf Aotearoa and New Zealand Sign Language Teachers Association.
The deaf community is the special community of any country. Because of their disability, they require more love and care. I am impressed by the New Zealand government that they give importance to this community by giving sign language the status of official language.
Samoan
Another language that people of New Zealand speak widely is Samoan. It is a Polynesian language. People living on the North Island of this country, which is Auckland, speak this language.
Immigrant Languages
There are many immigrant languages that people of New Zealand speak. There are more Polynesian speakers present in New Zealand than in the countries that are native. The immigrant languages that the people of New Zealand speak are Afrikaans, Dutch, Arabic, French, Hindi, Korean, and Spanish. Moreover, the people of New Zealand also speak Tagalog, Yue Chinese, and German.
Wrapping Up
Among all the languages spoken by the people of New Zealand, which one do you know? If you are not familiar with the language then no worries, you can get assistance from professional translation services.
