In New Zealand the main spoken language is English while the less spoken languages are Maori and New Zealand Sign Language. Maori is the language that was brought to New Zealand through Polynesian settlers and can only be found there. The Maori (referring to the Polynesian people of New Zealand) that are located on the north island of New Zealand are the main speakers of the language. Only around 22 percent of Maori speak the language (3% of the NZ population), and of only about half can actually speak it well. Although it is a dying language because of the overwhelming support of learning English over Maori it has recently gained much support for its continued survival.
The Maori language consists of the five basic vowel sounds: a e i o u. ‘A’ as in star, ‘e’ as in ‘peg, ‘i’ as in eat, ‘u’ as in loot, and ‘o’ as in tote. Maori also has eight consonant sounds: h, k, m, p, r, t, and w that are very similar in pronunciation to those in english and two consonant sounds wh and ng which are unique. The wh consonant is slightly similar to the f sound in english and the ng consonant is similar to the ng found in sing, but it unlike in English it can also be found at the start of Maori words.
The Maori language consists of the five basic vowel sounds: a e i o u. ‘A’ as in star, ‘e’ as in ‘peg, ‘i’ as in eat, ‘u’ as in loot, and ‘o’ as in tote. Maori also has eight consonant sounds: h, k, m, p, r, t, and w that are very similar in pronunciation to those in english and two consonant sounds wh and ng which are unique. The wh consonant is slightly similar to the f sound in english and the ng consonant is similar to the ng found in sing, but it unlike in English it can also be found at the start of Maori words.