Still, a number of Maori words have been adopted into New Zealand English, while many place names are Maori words. Being able to correctly pronounce Maori words is a valued skill since incorrectly pronounced Maori sounds like fingernails scratching on a blackboard and will immediately identify you as a visitor to the country. Even a tolerable and halting attempt at the correct pronunciation is better than a poor guess ? your effort to get it right will be appreciated and accepted. (Many New Zealanders have trouble with some Maori place names, so you will blend in with the crowd.)
Macrons are not normally used when a Maori word has been adopted into English and they do not generally appear on direction signs or maps.
Thus Māori, Maaori and Maori all represent the same word, and usage will depend on the style of the writer and whatever conventions were in place when the article was written. The most recent ''Māori Language'' articles will use macron over the long vowels. This will probably only happen in English if the writer is, or the article concerns Maori.
For example: ;'''Akatarawa''' : is said ''A ka ta ra wa'' ;'''M?ori''' : is said ''MAOW ree,'' though Westerners tend to incorrectly pronounce it ''Maa o ri'' ;'''Paraparaumu''' : is said ''Pa ra pa ra u mu'' ;'''Petone''' : is said ''Pe to ne'' ;'''Whangarei''' : is said ''Wha nga rei''
For example:
It is unlikely that an ordinary traveler will need to resort to speaking Maori to make themselves understood. However an understanding of Maori words and their meanings will lead to an appreciation of the culture and enhance the travel experience.
; '''Donation''' : Koha
; '''Hello''' (informal or answering the telephone) : Kia ora ; '''Hello''' (to one person) : T?n? koe ; '''Hello''' (to two people) : T?n? k?rua ; '''Hello''' (to a group) : T?n? koutou
; '''Welcome''' : Haere mai
; '''Good-bye''' (to the person staying) : E noho r? ; '''Good-bye''' (to the person going) : Haere r?
MAY BE SPELT INCORRECTLY!!!!
; 1 : Tahi (tar-he) ; 2 : Rua (rew-ah) ; 3 : Toru (toh-rew) ; 4 : Wha (far) ; 5 : Rima (ree-ma) ; 6 : Onu (on-ew) ; 7 : Whetu (fet-ew) ; 8 : Waru (waah-rew) ; 9 : Iwa (e-wah) ; 10 : Tekau (tee-ko)
One to ten!!!
; tai : tide, sea ; tapu : sacred ; te : the ; toka : rock ; wai : water ; whanga : bay, harbor ; whenua : land
Many [http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/resources_e/placenames.shtml place names] have been made tautological by Europeans adding a word which is already contained in the M?ori name, e.g. Mount Maunganui = "Mount big mountain". However, in recent years, there has been a trend for New Zealand English speakers to drop the English geographic qualifier and refer to many geographic features by their M?ori names alone. Thus Mount Ruapehu is often referred to simply as ''Ruapehu''. In many respects this is an English contraction rather than a reversion to M?ori names, as many of the M?ori words are followed by a pluralising ''s'' where the omitted English geographic term was plural. So ''the Rimutakas'' is used in place of ''the Rimutaka ranges'', while ''the Waikato'' will normally refer to the ''the Waikato river'' although ''Waikato'' (without ''the'') would probably refer to the region, though this may need to be inferred from the context.