Ko Te Marae Reo Maori - Cook Islands Maori

[Ariki]

Kia orāna tātou kātoatoa i roto i te aro`a ma`ata o te Atua

Now, that I am more organised I can start posting lessons for you all to do

The vowels in Cook Islands Māori are pronounced the same as the vowels in New Zealand Māori, Hawai`ian, Tahitian, Tongan and Sāmoan.

Cook Islands Māori is divided in to a number of island dialects. They mostly comprise of two groups, which are -

Manihiki-Rakahanga and Tongarevan, the northern dialects.

The Manihiki-Rakahanga dialects have the letters 'h' and 'f'. In some words, they are more conservative than New Zealand Māori, retaining proto-Polynesian 'f'. Compare NZ Māori hoki (to return) to Manihiki-Rakahanga 'foki'.

On Tongareva, the letters 's' and 'h' are used. Words that have the letter 's' generally become 'h' in NZ Māori, as the 's' is another proto-Polynesian letter. Compare NZ Māori 'horoi' (to wash, with water) and Tongarevan 'soroi'.

In both northern dialects, the letter 'r' is pronounced as a 'l'.

The southern group of dialects include Aitutaki, Mangaia, Atiu, Miti`āro and Rarotonga. There is no 'h', 'f', 's' or 'wh', all being replaced by the glottal stop marked by ` . So, let's compare the Southern group dialects with the northern group, as well as the Māori dialects of New Zealand -

house -

fare (Manihiki-Rakahanga), hare (Tongareva), whare (NZ Māori), `are (southern group).

water

vai (Manihiki-Rakahanga), vai (Tongareva), wai (NZ Māori), vai (southern group)

In perspective with the rest of the Polynesian languages, we find the word for house to be -

fale (Sāmoan, Tongan), hare (Rapa Nui), hale (Hawai`ian), fare (Tahitian).

The Cook Islands Māori language is highly mutually intelligible with Tahitian, NZ Māori and Hawai`ian, and thus makes it a handy language to know if you plan on visiting all of these archipelagoes.

The Pukapukan language, which is spoken on Pukapuka, closely resembles the Sāmoan language - it is not a Māori dialect.

The dialect used for teaching Cook Islands Māori for this course will be the Rarotongan dialect. The correct name for the language in English is Cook Islands Māori, not Rarotongan. Rarotongan is only one of the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands.

For those of you who have done some of the other Polynesian language courses here, you will undoubtedly immediately recognise some of the words used below. It is a good idea, to study two Polynesian languages at once, as, it will help you with learning and understanding the different dialects that are spoken throughout Polynesia.

Pukapuka`anga Conversation

Tāne: Kia orāna. Pē`ea koe?
Va`ine: Kia orāna. Meitaki au. `Ē koe?
Tāne: Meitaki au. Te `aere atu na koe ki `ea?
Va`ine: Te `aere atu nei au ki te `are toa, `oko kaikai ei. Te `aere atu na koe ki `ea?
Tāne: Te `aere atu nei au ki te moana, kaukau ei. Ka kite!
Va`ine: Ka kite!

Grammar

Word Order - VSO

Cook Islands Māori uses the exact same word placement as NZ Māori. So, for example -

Te `aere atu na koe ki `ea?

is glossed as

v.p. to go d.p. p.p. you to where?

Where are you going?

v.p. = verbal particle
d.p. = directional particle
p.p. = positional particle

Mai - Atu (Directional particles)

Mai and Atu mean 'towards the speaker' and 'away from the speaker' respectively and are not easily and readily translated in to English. They work the same way in all Polynesian languages

Nei, Na, Ra (Positional particles)

These particles are used to show the distance between the speaker is from an object. Nei is used for objects immediately near the speaker, while na is used for objects near the person they are speaking to. Ra is used for objects that are far away from both of them.

Ei - Ai - Anaphoric particles

Ei~Ai is used when the location has been focussed. For example -

Te `aere atu nei au ki te `are toa, `oko kaikai ei.

I am going to the store, to buy food.

The original, underlying sentence for it was -

Te `aere atu nei au ki te `oko kaikai i te `are toa.

I am going to buy food, at the store.

If the last vowel of the word preceeding ei is 'a', then the 'ei' is changed to 'ai'. For example, te kaukau atu nei au kiāia, tuatua ai.

Personal Pronouns

These are exactly the same as NZ Māori.

Au - I, me

Māua - us two (exclusive)
Mātou - us three +(exclusive)

Tāua - us two (inclusive)
Tātou - us three + (inclusive)

Koe - You (singluar)
Kōrua - You two
Kōtou - You three +

ia - he, she, it
rāua - they (two)
rātou - them

Continuous present tense

Te + action + positional particle (pp)
Tei te + action
E action ana

The continuous present tense in Cook Islands Māori is normally expresed as 'te action pp.' For example - te `oki atu nei au ki tōku `are - I am going back to my house'.

It can also be expressed using the same constructions as NZ Māori. For example -

Tei te `oki au ki tōku `are
E `oki atu ana au ki tōku `are

To use the te+action+p.p. model, you need to know which positional particles go with which pronouns. Nei is only used with au, tāua, tātou, māua, mātou, because you are talking about something that includes yourself. Na is used with koe, kōrua, kōtou. Rā is used with ia, rāua, rātou and all personal names. Refer back to the positional particles part of the lesson.

Activity -

Translate the script used for this lesson.

Vocabulary
Kia orāna - greetings
Ka kite - see you
`Aere - to go, to walk
`Oki - to return
`Are - house
`Are toa - Store, shop
`Oko - to buy, to trade, to barter, to sell
`Ea - where
Pē`ea - How
Meitaki - Good
Moana - ocean
Kaukau - to swim
Kaikai - food
Tuatua - to talk

[Ariki]

`Aere mai kōtou ki te `are `Āpi`i!

Ko tēia te ngā`i nō kōtou kia `oronga mai ā kōtou pā`u`ang nō te `āpi`i.

Welcome all of you to the `Are `Āpi`i!

This is the place for all of you to give your answers for the classes.

Nō reira, kia orāna tātou kātoatoa.

[Ariki]

If you're too embarrassed to post, just pm the answers to me

[Stan]

Which one is easier: NZ Maori or CI Maori?

[Stan]

Activity - Lesson 1

Tāne: Greetings. How are you?
Va`ine: Greetings. I am good. And you?
Tāne: I'm good. Where are you going?
Va`ine: I am going back to my shop, to buy food. Where are you going?
Tāne: I am going back to the ocean, to swim. See you!
Va`ine: See you!

I hope I didn't make too many mistakes

Ka kite!

[Ariki]

Kua tano! Correct!

Are there are any questions about the grammar?

[Stan]

Are there are any questions about the grammar?

Well I have many questions, not just about grammar

1) How many people speak CI Māori?
2) What are the major differences between it and NZ Māori?
3) Is it considered a separate language or a Māori dialect?
4) how many irregular verbs?

[Ariki]

Well I have many questions, not just about grammar

1) How many people speak CI Māori?

I can safely say at least 20, 000 people in the Cook Islands. There are more Cook Islanders that live outside of the Cook Islands, but I can't guestimate the number that can speak Cook Islands Māori.

2) What are the major differences between it and NZ Māori?

When we speak of Cook Islands Māori, we're really only speaking about the dialects spoken in the southern archipelago of the Cook Islands. In comparison to Māori (NZ), they have no 'wh' (soft f sound) nor do they have 'h'. Instead, they have glottal stops. For a NZ Māori speaker, this can be frustrating in pronounciation, because the majority of dialects spoken in Aotearoa do not have 'h' or 'wh' deletion. So, to illustrate -

Come to my house

`Aere mai ki tōku `are (CI Māori)

Haere mai ki tōku whare (NZ Māori)

3) Is it considered a separate language or a Māori dialect?

That's a tough one - it's a seperate language, but in so many ways, it's also a dialect. It doesn't help when all dialects call their own dialects 'Māori' and then label all the others. But generally, Cook Islands Māori are a group of dialects that are mutually intelligible with each other. There are two major dialectal regions.

The Southern Group (which Rarotonga is a part of) have the dialects of 'Mangaia, Ātiu, Aitutaki, Miti`āro, Rarotonga and Ma`uke'. The dialects spoken on these islands are 100% mutually intelligible with each other, and, all share the 'h' and 'wh' deletion.

The Northern group consists of Manihiki-Rakahanga and Tongareva.

Manihiki and Rakahnga both have 'h' and 'f' (equivalent to wh) and Tongareva has 'h' and 's'. As a consequence, they are not as mutually intelligible with the Southern Group dialects. They are, however, more intelligible with NZ Māori dialects.

4) how many irregular verbs?

There are none (that come to mind) - the phrase is the central unit in Māori. The grammar of the language is determined by TAM (Tense-Aspect-Markers). E.g.

Ka kaikai au i te meika

I will eat the banana

I kaikai ana au i te meika

I ate the banana (emphasis on the action)

Kua kaikai au i te meika

I have eaten the banana

Te kaikai nei au i te meika

I am eating the banana.

Kaikai = eat, meika = banana, au = I

As you can see, the word itself didn't change, but rather, the particles around ti.

The majority of Eastern Polynesian languages work using this grammar system.

[Ariki]

Lesson 2

Pukapuka`anga

Tāne: Kia orāna.
Va`ine: Kia orāna, pē`ea `ua koe?
Tāne: meitaki `ua au, `ē koe?
Va`ine: meitaki katoa au. Te kimi atu nei au ki tāku puka.
Tāne: Kua ngaro iākoe?
Va`ine: Āe. Kua manako au, tei runga i te kaingākai. Kāre i reira. Ko te ingoa o te puka, ko 'Te Manu'.
Tāne: Te kite nei au! Tei tōku teina, nāna i mea mai nā`au i `oake kiāia ki te tatau.
Va`ine: Mako! Ka rauka iākoe te mea atu kiāia ki te `aka`oki mai i tāku puka?
Tāne: Āe, `ea`a ai?
Va`ine: Te `inangaro nei au ki te tatau i taua puka. `E tā`ē`ē`anga tāku ā te `epetoma ki mua.
Tāne: Meitaki. Ka tono atu au iāia. Ka `aere au i tēia tuātau, ka kite!
Va`ine: Ka kite

Dummy Subject -it-

In Polynesian languages, the English dummy subject 'it' often is not translated and is left out with the context and meaning behind the sentence often understood.

Manner Particles
`Ua - Just
Te `aere `ua nei au ki te toa!

v.p. go manner particle dp. I to def. store

I'm just going to the store!

Manner particles (and there are a series of them) are post posed on to the verb.

`Ua, is a handy manner particle to know. It occurs quite frequently, and early mastery of this manner particle is quite important. With early mastery of some of the more so called 'difficult' particles, the faster your acquisition in fluency in Cook Islands Māori language will be.

T.A.M. - Tense Aspect Markers

We've already looked at three possible constructions for verbal sentences - te action pp., tei te action and e action ana.

This lesson today, expands on the number of T.A.M.'s that can be used with in Cook Islands Māori. Those of you who have looked Rapa Nui and NZ Māori may be familiar with some of these.

Kua
The first particle we will look at, is 'kua'

Kua `aere atu au ki te toa

I have gone to the store.

Kua refers to a past action or state that has been 'achieved'. It translates generally in to what would be the English verb 'to have'.

Kua meitaki au

I am fine OR I have been fine.

Ka

Ka in Cook Islands Māori changes in meaning depending on context. Like Rapa Nui, it can be used for imperatives such as - ka `aere tātou! we must go!

Ka can also be used for 'future' tense marking (unlike 'e' in NZ Māori and Rapa Nui).

Ka, also marks 'aspect' depending on what the tense is. It is used for consecutive events, just like NZ Māori. This use of ka is called 'ka conjunction'.

Inana`i i `aere atu mātou ki Ta`iti, `ē, ka `aere mātou ki Rangiātea.

Yesterday we went to Tahiti, and, then we went to Ra`iātea.

Locative particles - Tei

Tei means the same as 'Kei' in NZ Māori. It marks present 'location', and be translated to mean 'at'.

So, 'tei tōku teina' translates as 'with my younger brother'.

Ki

Ki translates as 'to'. Ka `aere atu au ki reira - I will go there. In writing and speaking conventions, the particle 'ki' is made inbound when it is used with 'au' (which forms kiāku in writing and speech), kiāia and kiākoe.

Kua `aere kiāku - It has come to me

Kua `oki atu aia ki a rātou - He/she/it has returned to them.

Ki can also be used as a particle indicating intention to complete a goal e.g.

ka `akarauka au ki te kaikai

I am able to eat.

Object Marker I

The particle I, generally marks 99% of all object case use in Cook Islands Māori If we take a look at a sentence with the usual VSO construction we see -

Te kaikai nei au i te ika

I'm eating the fish

I in the Cook Islands Māori marks 'te ika', 'the fish'. We see that the subject case is marked with 0 (au). The subject case and the object case, however, can be switched around to a VOS order with no change in meaning -

Te kaikai nei i te ika au

However, that is not the usual construction for simple sentences in Cook Islands Māori.

'I' also means 'for' in terms of when an item is not being possessed e.g. te tangi atu nei au iākoe e māmā - I cry for you mum. Ki, can also be substituted for 'I'.

Verb Types

In Cook Islands Māori, we have universals and statives. Universals can be further divided in to 'transitive' and 'intransitive'.

Transitives can take direct objects, while intransitives can't. For example -

Ka kaikai au i te ika

I will eat the fish. Kaikai is a transitive verb.

But you can not say -

Ka `oki au i te puka

I will return the book

`Oki, `aere, no`o are examples of intransitive words. They can not take direct objects. Instead, in order for them to take a direct object, the verbal prefix 'aka must be prefixed to the word. So, you can say -

Ka `aka`oki au i te puka.

Statives on the other hand, do not generally follow the VSO word order. Instead, they are constructed as V-C-A (Verb - Comment - Agent) e.g. -

ka rauka iāku

I am able to.

Stative agents (the doers of the action) are marked with the particle 'i'. In Cook Islands Māori for the Rarotongan dialect, it is ungrammatical to say 'iāau', but perfectly acceptable to say 'iāku'.

It is the writing convention for Cook Islands Māori, that with first person pronouns, that the agent marker and the personal article 'a' are written as one. E.g.

Ka rauka iākoe - You can do it. This goes for 'koe' and 'ia' (au, when it is made inbound, becomes iāku). In order to make a stative verb in to a transitive, simply prefix 'aka, and it will change the word order from V-C-A to V-S-O- e.g.

ka rauka te kaikai iāku becomes

ka `akarauka au ki te kaikai

A and O class possession

Tāku/Tōku = My

A and O class possession is currently used in 33 of the 38 Polynesian languages.

A and O are indications of the relationship between the possessor and the possessed. There are often categories for determining which objects take 'a' and which take 'o' possession.

In the above conversation, teina - younger sibling of the same sex, takes 'o', while puka - book, takes a. Items which are transitive (that is, you can pick them up and move them around) are generally 'a' class. Words like teina, are 'o', because, siblings and family members who are in higher generations than you are all 'o' class. Your children (tamariki) would be 'a' class, because they are your offspring.

Homework
1/Translate the above conversation. 'Ki mua' translates as 'next'.
2/Write three short sentences based on the vocabulary and grammar that you know. The sentences needn't tell a story nor be long.

The vocabulary lists from now on will indicate whether a word is a stative or intransitive word. It is hoped that this will lighten your learning burden.

If you have a question, any question at all, relating to the grammar or vocabulary, please, don't hesitate to post here or to pm me. I'm more than happy to respond.

Vocabulary
Puka - Book
Inana`i - Yesterday
Kimi - to search for something
Kaingākai - table
tuātau - time
Mea - to say
Rauka - to get, to be able, can (stative)
`Aka`oki - To return
Tā`ē`ē`anga - Exam
Mako - excellent
`Epetoma - Week
Mua - Front
Tatau - To read
`Inangaro - To desire
Tono - to request
`Oake - to give
Ingoa - Name
Taua - That (aforementioned)
Teina - Younger sibling of the same sex

[Ariki]

Which one is easier: NZ Maori or CI Maori?

I can't comment on that - it really is too subjective for me to say

[Ariki]

Lesson 3

Kia orāna kōtou kātoatoa. Before we continue on with new grammar, below is a nice summary of what we have learnt from the past two lessons.

Revision

Word Order

The basic word order for Cook Islands Māori is VSO - Verb Subject Object

Anaphoric Particle(s)
Ei - Ai

Used for when a location has been emphasized. For example -

Te `oki atu nei au ki tōku kāinga takoto ei.

I'm going back to my home to lie down there

Often in translation in to English, the 'there' is left out.

The 'ei' will be pronounced and written as an 'ai' should the last vowel of the word end in 'a'. For example -

Te `aere atu nei au ki Rarotonga tātā ai

I am going to Rarotonga to write there.

Directional Particles

There are two in Cook Islands Māori - mai (towards the speaker) and atu (away from the speaker). Compare -

`Aere mai! (Come to me!)
`Aere atu! (Go away!)

Personal pronouns
The personal pronouns are either singular, dual or plural. We noticed that in lesson 2, that the singular personal pronouns become 'inbound' when proceeded by a i or a k. In the case of 'au', it is transformed in to 'ku'. i.e. ki + a + au = kiāu, i + a + au = iāku.

T.A.M.
Kua - perfective past

Kua `aere mai koe - You have come

Te action positional particle, presente tense

Te `aere atu nei au - I am going

Tei te action (present tense)

Tei te `aere atu au - I am going

E action ana (present tense)

E `aere atu ana - I am going

All three constructions for the present tense all mean the same.

Ka - Future, consecutive events

Ka kaukau au i te moana

I will swim in the ocean.

I tere atu mātou ki Rarotonga, `ē, ka kaikai mātou i te vī

We (plural, exclusive) travelled to Rarotonga, and, we ate mangos.

Locative particles

Tei - present location

Tei runga i te kaingākai te meika

The banana is on top of the table

Tei tōku teina

It's with my younger sibling (of the same sex)

Ki - Direction, towards

Kua `aere mai koe kiāku - You have come to me

Object marker I

Used for marking the object case, as the Direct Object marker. E.g.

Ka kaikai au i te meika - I will eat the banana

Manner Particles - `Ua

`Ua is postposed to the verb, before any of the directional particles (mai or atu). It translates as 'just'. There are a series of these. Mastery of these will help with our fluency of the Māori language of the Cook Islands.

Verb Types

Transitive - where the action transfers from the subject of the sentence to the direct object e.g. ka `āmiri au i te manu - I touch the bird

Intransitive - where the action can not be transferred on to the direct object. Words like `aere, no`o and `oki. If we want to make them transitive, we can add the prefix `aka.

A and O class possessives

Used to determine the relationship of the possessor, and what is possessed.

Pukapuka`anga - Conversation

Va`ine: Auē, te `aere mai ra `aia!
Tama: Ko`ai?
Va`ine: Ko tōku metua va`ine
Tama: Ko te va`ine te tāmou ra iāia te pare ma`ata?
Va`ine: Ā, kua tano koe.
Tama: `Ea`a te pekapeka?
Va`ine: Mē kite mai `aia iāku `ē tēta`i tāne `ou, ka `aere mai, ka maromaroā `aia
Tama: `Auraka koe e pēnā!
Va`ine: Kua tano au - i te au tuātau kātoatoa ka tā`akamā mai `aia kiāku.
Tama : Koia rāi tō`ou māmā!
Va`ine: Kāre koe e kite ana iāia. Ka `aere tāua ki te kauvai, kaukau ei? Te `inangaro nei au kia kite i a Tāne, kia kite tei āia tāku puka!
Tama: Ā, kia `aere!

Grammar

Manner Particles - `Ua, rāi

Rāi, like '`ua, is postposed to the verb. It, with other manner particles, can also be used in noun sentences. For example, koia rāi tō`ou māmā - she is still your mother.

Rāi is a manner particle that is used to indicate a continuation of the state. For example - te `aere rāi atu nei au - I'm still going away.

T.A.M.

I - simple past

I is used for simple past, not for completed actions! When I is used, it is implied that a consecutive series of events that have followed, all of which are indicated by `ē (and), ka. Please remember, that when you use ka conjunction, that the first TAM marker from the start of the sentence is never repeated.

Kua - achieved state

For the translation of the conversation above, please keep in mind that when a state has been achieved, that kua can also be used, and, is often translated in to the English 'present tense' when used like that. Kua meitaki - It has been good OR it is good (it has finally achieved the state of being good).

Te action positional particle

Te `aere mai ra aia means she is coming. The Positional particles nei, na and ra line up with the personal pronouns. Nei, na and ra form a paradigm with ei~ai as well.

Nei goes with the pronouns - au, tāua, māua, tātou and mātou. This is because, in all of these pronouns the speaker is part of the group.

Na is used with the pronouns - koe, kōrua and kōtou. Hence the formal Māori greeting 'tēnā koe' (greetings to you, one person). Te kaikai na koe i te vī? Are you eating the mango?

Ra is used with ia, rāua, rātou and personal names.

Kia/Ki te complements
Kia - Considerative, be

Kia is used with verbs, and can mean 'to, be, let's'. This all depends on the context of when it is used.

The most famous example of the use of kia in Eastern Polynesian languages, is the NZ Māori greeting 'kia ora' (lit. be alive!).

Vocabulary
Pare - Hat
Ma`ata - A lot, many (intransitive)
Tano - Correct (intransitive)
`Akamā - To be ashamed
Tā`akamā - To make ashamed
Kauvai - Creek
Mou - To hold, to bring (this verb breaks all the rules, it's both a stative and a transitive verb)
Vī - Mango
Metua - Parent, Father (metua va`ine - mother, metua tāne - father)
Va`ine - Woman
Māmā - Mother
Pāpā - Father
Tātā - To write
Pekapeka - Problem

[Ariki]

How to make macrons appear

The following codes below are the codes for typing in the macrons. Each code is prefixed with the &# symbols

A = 256;
a = 257;
E = 274;
e = 275;
I = 298;
i = 299;
O = 332;
o = 333;
U = 362;
u = 363;

[Ariki]

Kia orāna tātou!

'Auraka e mataku te tuku mai ra i tā'au ui'anga nō runga i te karama o te reo Māori ki tēia tumu kōrero.

Don't be afraid to send your questions in relation to the grammar of the Māori language (CI) to this forum!

[lapulapu28]

Hi Riki,

The thread you've posted is really cool and has helped me a lot in understanding the language (Cook Islang Maori) But I'm really confused and having a hard time to figure out how can i spell the word with the Glottal stop "'" I've been wanting to learn Polynesian languages but the the glottal stop is the barrier to everything. Please help me. thank you

[Nero]

Hi Riki,

The thread you've posted is really cool and has helped me a lot in understanding the language (Cook Islang Maori) But I'm really confused and having a hard time to figure out how can i spell the word with the Glottal stop "'" I've been wanting to learn Polynesian languages but the the glottal stop is the barrier to everything. Please help me. thank you

Riki's out on vacation right now, maybe I can help?

To spell a word with a glottal stop, it's like putting an apostrophe inbetween letters in english:
"va`ine" "tēta`i" "tā`akamā"

Did you mean, how do you pronounce a word with it?