New Zealand English

Introduction

The development of a new variety of English in New Zealand after 1840 is recent enough for us to be able to study how it happened. In the 1940s, recordings were made of old New Zealand-born people, some of whom were born as early as the 1850s. These recordings show that those born in the 1850s and 1860s had speech similar to their immigrant parents – they sound Scottish or Irish; however, for people born in the 1880s this was changing. Those who grew up in South Island towns sound similar to those born in North Island towns, irrespective of where their parents came from. We know that a distinctive New Zealand accent developed quickly and spread throughout the country over a period of 20-30 years.

Excerpt taken from ‘Introduction to New Zealand English’ blog post by Dr Elizabeth Gordon

New Zealand English words recently recorded in the OED

• ae, adv. (and n.)
• after-ball, adj., and n.
• chur, int.
• e hoa, n.
• hen-cackle, n.
• kaupapa, n.
• koha, n.
• korero, v.
• rangatiratanga, n.
• standing place, n.

The words shown here are free to view. Click on links above to view these words, or explore further using the advanced search (learn how to search the OED here).

Additional resources