pronounciation question

[doc]

as it is looking increasingly likely that we will be relocating to taupo, i thought it important to be able to correctly pronounce the word.
we have been referring to it as tauw poe, but on wikipedia they have it prounounced toe paw.
ignorant in colorado,
doc

[JandM]

http://www.forvo.com/word/taupo/

[Duncan74]

it seems pretty common that many places, especially in the north island, to have at least two commonly used pronunciations. T-oww-poe as in how -know seems to be pretty common although the tv1 weather man that seems to make more effort than most with a more traditional pronunciation goes with a t -or -po sort of pronunciation. In fairness then people dont seem to get too hung up on things like that, although you do need to get your wha pronunciation sorted.

[ourquest]

as it is looking increasingly likely that we will be relocating to taupo, i thought it important to be able to correctly pronounce the word.
we have been referring to it as tauw poe, but on wikipedia they have it prounounced toe paw.
ignorant in colorado,
doc

Typical for a country with more than one language, many New Zealand towns' names have more than one "correct" pronounciation.

There has been an interest in restoring the correct Maori pronounciations for relevant towns, but this leaves many older generation New Zealanders (and those they influence) still using the Anglicised version.

In the case of Taupo, the correct way to pronounce it is:

"Toe paw"

..with the second syllable being slightly shorter than the first, and a very slight (flowing) sounding of both individual vowels in "Tau".

But "old school" Pakeha New Zealanders still regularly refer to it as "Tauw poe", with "tauw" sounded as in the first part of "towel", and "poe" as in "toe".

Similar dual rules apply to many other place names, including the "wh" sound which Duncan74 (somewhat incorrectly) suggests must be pronounced a certain way.
The simplest pronounciation for "wh" is purely as an "f", but is sometimes an aspirated sound as in "when" and "which" if these are pronounced with the lips closing momentarily while breath is forced across them (which you use would depend on the part of the country or Iwi from which the Maori originate and is interchangable).

But many "old school" Pakeha (white) New Zealanders still say "wh" as a normal "w", and although this takes me by surprise every time, it is fairly common, and so pronouncing it like that will not necessarily identify you as a foreigner at all.

What will identify you as a foreigner though, is putting stress on certain sylllables of Maori place names, when in reality these are mostly pronounced with even stress on all syllables, and emphasis on the consonants.

Whangamata is a good example. Most foreigners will try it as:

"wang-ga-marr-ter", with the stress on "marr", and saying "wang" as in "hang".

But it is pronounced more as:

"fong-er-mer-tar" , with no glutteral sound on the "g" and all syllables said quickly and evenly, and the "wh" (f) and "t" consenants sounded quite forcefully.

Weather reporters will be under instruction to use the "correct" Maori pronunciations.

You did ask...!

[doc]

holy smokes! i did ask and probably best just keep my mouth shut and listen when i get there and hope that i can parrot the pronounciation as best my old kansas boy tongue can.
thanks so much,
doc

[Sam B]

Definitely, definitely toe-paw. Most people that live there say it that way, and if you're coming new to a country, you might as well start with the correct pronunciation. It's a Maori word, so it may as well be said with the Maori pronunciation.

[ourquest]

Definitely, definitely toe-paw. Most people that live there say it that way, and if you're coming new to a country, you might as well start with the correct pronunciation. It's a Maori word, so it may as well be said with the Maori pronunciation.

I agree completely. It is confusing when two versions get used locally but perhaps I should have been more clear that ultimately the Maori pronounciation is the correct one (historically and ethically).

[James 1077]

Definitely, definitely toe-paw. Most people that live there say it that way, and if you're coming new to a country, you might as well start with the correct pronunciation. It's a Maori word, so it may as well be said with the Maori pronunciation.

Every time I've been to Taupo everypne there has pronounced it as "Tauw poe" - I've also got a few friends who have places there or whose family live there and it is Tauw poe to them too.

The only time I've ever heard "Toe paw" is on the weather forecast and news. I always assumed that it was the Maori pronunciation but only ever used by Maori and people who, in the UK, would read the Guardian!

[Tia Maria]

Every time I've been to Taupo everypne there has pronounced it as "Tauw poe" - I've also got a few friends who have places there or whose family live there and it is Tauw poe to them too.

The only time I've ever heard "Toe paw" is on the weather forecast and news. I always assumed that it was the Maori pronunciation but only ever used by Maori and people who, in the UK, would read the Guardian!

I don't get it?

Are you saying that any right wing Maoris, or left wing lower and upper class Maoris don't like to use original pronounciations?


Cheers

Tia

[bluesky]

I don't get it?

Are you saying that any right wing Maoris, or left wing lower and upper class Maoris don't like to use original pronounciations?


Cheers

Tia

I think James is referring to the PC element to the whole Maori pronunciation issue. There's loads of different ways to pronounce the same word, and I'm sure different Maori at various points in time have used different words and pronunciations to describe the same place. Then Europeans arrived and introduced new names, or pronounced the Maori names in a different way. For goodness sake, the word "Maori" itself wasn't used until after Europeans arrived. Language and placenames evolve, so there is no "right" way to pronounce words like "Taupo".

Choosing an arbitrary pronunciation as being more authentic than others is simply done to make a political point about recognising Maori culture more than anything else. While I actually agree with the political point, trying to advance it in this way is just plain silly.