April 26, 2019
Loan words flags of identity
University of Waikato researchers have concluded many of the Māori words used in New Zealand English are a way of marking identity rather than being entrenched in the language in a traditional linguistic sense.
Senior linguistics lecturer Andreea Calude and Masters graduate Katie Levendis combed through 10 years of newspaper articles related to Māori Language Week and found loanwords are more frequent today than in the past.
But they were often included in stories about topics related to Māori people or culture, such as Matariki or kapa haka performances.
Newspapers seem inconsistent about 'flagging' or providing translations, which is one way of knowing whether a loan word is being entrenched in its new language.
The researchers say Māori loan words are often not so much used for their contribution to meaning but more for their social connotations.
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