A Maori Podcast

Kia ora ra! I really struggled to explain some concepts today, but hopefully you still get the gist of what I am trying to explain. We look at the below phrases, taken from Ray Harlow's A Maori Reference grammar [pg.265]: Me noho ki konei kia hoki rawa mai au - Stay here until I get back. I noho mai ratou, tae noa mai ki te Rahoroi kua hipa nei - They stayed right up till last Saturday. Me u tonu...

Kia ora ra e te iwi whanui! This week I came across a new way to speak on the passing of time. Hopefully you find this insightful. Po rua a Tukutuku e whakatata ana ki a Paoa, kihai i tata. - For two nights Tukutuku was trying to get near to Paoa, but did not succeed. [First Lessons in Maori, pg. 39, W.L. William] Po whitu ki te moana ka whiti ki Hawaiki. - We'll be at sea for 7 nights until we re...

Kia ora! We look at modifying our sentences with the word paku. Per Ray Harlow [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg 43] He paku te wa - Time is short Kei ko paku atu - Just beyond Ka haere au ki te paku awhina i a ratou He paku raruraru - A small problem Kaore ia i paku aro mai ki te korero a te kaiako. Our panui was taken from the Radio Kahungunu archives. You can find the exact time I pulled this from...

Kia ora ano! This week I shed a bit of life on how to use 'With' when speaking Maori. Ray Harlow gives the below explanations [A Maori Refence Grammar, pg 151-152] The English 'with' introduces three types of comment, so care is need in seeking a Maori equivalent. "I taaraia te waka ki te toki pounamu - The canoe was carved with a jade adze." "I enei ra, tuhia ai nga tuhinga roa ki te rorohiko, ka...

Kia ora! This week covers 'When'. I had many examples to cite from Harlow. Hopefully it makes sense and you find it useful. Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar. pg 216 Kia - Kia mutu te ua, ka haere nga tamariki ki waho takaro ai. [When the rain stops, the children will go outside to play.] Ina - Ina kite koe i a ia, me mihi. [When you see her, say hello from me.] Kia ... ka - Kia mutu nga whaikorer...

Kia ora ra e hoa ma! This episode covers how to express worry. The exact structure per Harlow is as follows: Kei te awangawanga au kei ua apopopo. - I am worried it might rain tomorrow. [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg 214]

Tena koutou! This one still trips me up so hopefully it is helpful for you all listening! A Maori Reference Grammar. pg. 214 E pirangi a Hone ki te haere hei mema paremata. - Hone wants to become an MP. E pirangi a Hone kia potingia hei mema paremata. - Hone wants to be elected MP. E pirangi a Hone kia haere a Tio hei mema paremata. - Hone wants Tio be become an MP. The panui that I give is taken...

Kia ora! This week I touch on the many uses of Ki. Specifically comments following adjectives. Ray Harlow has this to say [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg 138]: Many adjectives take comments beginning with ki. These are usually adjectives which decscribe the attitude or ability of a person with respect to some activity or object, and include mohio (knowledgeable), kaha (strong, able, energetic), wha...

Tena koutou katoa! Due to the influence of the English language, English sentence patterns have entered into te reo. I briefly look into some specific sentence patterns that have been affected. An asterisks means the sentence is wrong. *Tatari moku. - Wait for me. *He tuatahi tenei moku - This is a first for me. Ray Harlow has this to say [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg 147] A handful of transitive...

Kia ora ano! This week we take a look the many uses of Pewhea/Pehea. Harlow says: [page 206, A Maori Reference Grammar] Kei te pehea koe? - How are you? I pehea te pēne? - What was the band like? I titiro pehea atu ia ki a koe? - How did he look at you? (skeptically, suspiciously, in a friendly way, etc) I peheatia nga tangata mau herehere e nga hoia? - How were the prisoners treated by the soldie...

Kia ora ra e kui ma e koro ma! This week I touch on how to express Reciprocity. Here is what Ray Harlow has to say (A Maori Reference Grammar, pg 61) Me aroha tetahi ki tetahi - We should love one another Na, kati ta tatou whakahe tetahi i tetahi - Let us each stop passing judgement, therefore, on one another (Paipera, Romans 14:13) Me inoi ano koutou tetahi mo tetahi - You should pray for one ano...

Tena koutou katoa! Today we take a a look into using "I" and the many uses it has. As always, I cite from Ray Harlow. Marks past location in a place: I konei raua i nanahi. - They (two) were here yesterday. I Rotorua te whakataetae i tera tau. - The competition was (held) in Rotorua last year. Marks past possession: I a Hone nga ki inapo. - Hone had the keys last night. Marks the object of transit...

Tena koutou katoa! If you have any questions, or if you just wana chat. Feel free to send me an email: amaoripodcast@protonmail.com This week I touch on the O-Category. Below is what I cite from Ray Harlow's A Maori Reference Grammar pg 143-145 a. Large, immovable entities that belong to the possessor, such as houses, land, country: Toona whare (His house), No Ngaitai aua whenua (Those lands belon...

Kia ora! This week I touch on A-Category. Hopefully you find it useful! Anyways, here is a brief overview of what sits under this category according to the book A Maori Reference Grammar. Small portable objects which are owned by the possessor, eg books, toys, tools, cups. - Nahaku tena pukapuka / That book belongs to me. Subjects of nominalisations of active transitive verbs. - Te tuhinga a Hemi...

Kia ora! This week I touch on the Actor Emphatic Sentences. Na/No and Ma/Mo These types of sentences focus on "Who" did the action. These are the examples from Te Wiremu: Naku tena tangata i pupuri / Naku i pupuri tena tangata - I detained that man Ma Horo e hanga he whare mou / Ma Horo he whare mou e hanga - Horo shall build a house for you. The doer has special forms, here are what they correspo...

Kia ora e hoa ma! I speak briefly on how to ask Why questions. Examples from Te Wiremu First Lessons: He aha a Turi i haere ai ki Taupo? - Why did Turi go to Taupo? He tiki i tahana tamaiti - To fetch his child. Na te aha ia i kore ai e tutuki ki Waiapu? - Why did he not reach Waiapu? Na te waipuke. - Because of the flood. He aha tahau e kata? - Why are you laughing? Ko te take tena i kore ai ia e...

Tena hoki mai ano e hoa ma! Something new today! Manner particles! I briefly speak on one use of the word Ke. Ke in this instance highlights a difference. Ray Harlow's A Maori Reference Grammar [pg.81] says: "The basic sense expressed by ke is 'contrary to what is expected, instead, different.' When used with verbs, marked with kua, it is often translated as the English 'already', though the sense...

Kia ora hoki mai ano e hoa ma! This episode I touch on the Mehemea e __ ana structure. This has a few forms, but are all the same. Te Wiremu gives the example below. Me e karanga ana ia, If he were calling. Me kahore ia e karanga ana, If he were not calling. Other forms include: Mehemea e karanga ana ia. Mena e karanga ana ia.

Kia ora ra e hoa ma! In this episode we cover the Me __ structure. Which is part of the Imperative structures. Specifically this is the Weak Imperative. Kinda like how "should/must/ought" works in English. Anyways, I cite Te Wiremu and the example given is: Me karanga ia, He had better call; let him call. (Not used in the negative.) Also, the Me ___ structure is always without the passive suffix....

Tena koutou e te iwi whanui! This is the last entry (for now haha) on the Strong Imperative which focuses on the reflexive, basically if the command issued is regarding oneself. Ray Harlow puts it as below in his book A Maori Reference Grammar: "... An exception to the rule that transitive verbs with object use the passive for commands is found in sentences with a reflexive object, where the patie...

Kia ora! This is part 3 on the Strong Imperative form. I felt like I struggled a lot to speak on this topic due to the technical language used from my reference material. Anyways I hope you can at least understand a bit of what I'm trying to say even if I fumble over it. I reference Ray Harlow's book A Maori Reference Grammar. The examples he gives are below: "...for transitive verbs with objects....

Kia ora ano! This is part 2 of using the Strong Imperative, I source this time from W.Bauer 1982 Aspects of the Grammar of Maori. "Intransitives have imperatives formed by the verb stem preceded by the imperative particle 'e' if the stem has two vowels or less". Examples are below (I also forgot to mention the Negative form so it's below for reference. Affirmative: E moe - sleep E tu - stand E oho...

Kia ora! Welcome back. In this episode we cover the Strong Imperative. Basically giving orders/instruction. As always this is taken from Te Wiremu. Imperative: Strong (Mandatory or Precatory) Karanga! Call! Kaua e karanga! Do not call! In this episode I only gave examples which align with the given example by Te Wiremu however I know that I didn't include examples which take a direct object, basic...

Kia ora mai ano e ngai taringa! In this episode I cover the Ana Structure. Te Wiremu labels it as a Narrative Form and is without any Negative. It only exists in the Affirmative. My understanding is that it is used often in stories, or just recalling a memory of some sort. Affirmative: Karanga ana ia, He called. (Not used in the negative.) I also offer some insights into how to learn Maori while l...

Kia ora kia ora! Nau mai ano ki tenei pahorangi! This episode covers the use of the "E __" Structure. Per Te Wiremu: Indefinite: Future Affirmative: E karanga ia, or Tera ia e karanga, He will call. Negative: E kore ia e karanga, or Tera ia e kore e karanga, He will not call. For our Whakatauki, I share a very importance distinction of how the "A" and "O" categories can drastically affect the mean...