Alexander Wyclif Reed - The Raupō concise Māori dictionary

When first approached to work on the revision of this dictionary, I was a little reluctant because it meant criticising and correcting someone elses efforts. However, this initial reluctance was overcome by my greater desire to have as accurate as possible a dictionary which would be of use to the person who is not a scholar of the Mori language but merely wants a quick reference to certain words, their meaning and use.

The dictionary does not purport to be the final authority on the language, and the reader should be aware that there are many words not included which are nevertheless used in different tribal areas. Included, however, are a number of words not used in everyday conversation which will smack of quaintness to many native speakers! But words considered to be too obsolete, archaic or regional have been omitted from this edition. A.W. Reed stated in his introduction to earlier editions that no attempt has been made to give an extended selection of modern words added to the Mori language, for there would be no ending to the task. Many transliterations were included, though, and indicated accordingly with an asterisk. In a number of instances, paraphrasing rather than transliterating has been employed by speakers of the language.

Further examples of both ways of providing Mori equivalents for English words are now included here. Generally the active form of the verb has been listed; for example, kite to see will be found rather than kitea to be seen. The passive voice is preferred to the active in spoken Mori, so some familiarity with the passive terminations (-a, -hia, -ia, -ina, -kia, -mia, -na, -nga, -ngia, -ria, -ta) is strongly recommended. Another fact to be noted is that a word in Mori can serve many grammatical functions, e.g. mahi to work (verb) te mahi work (noun) tangata mahi working man (adjective) The causative prefix whaka- is added to many words, thus whakamahi to set to work. To simplify matters such words will be found listed alphabetically under WH in this dictionary.

Since the dictionary only provides a list of words and their equivalents in Mori or English, it can only be a guide. To be able to use the words with accuracy, the dictionary should be used in conjunction with a good grammar and a more detailed dictionary such as H.W. Williamss A Dictionary of the Mori Language (Government Printer). Occasionally the Mori language contains no simple equivalent to English words. The English verbs be and have, for example, cannot be translated by one word in Mori, and detailed grammatical explanations would be necessary to convey the Mori modes of expression in such cases. Such explanations are outside the scope and purpose of this dictionary, and to avoid complexity and confusion for all but the most serious students of Mori culture.

These too fall outside the scope of this work. Another important improvement in this edition con cerns the use of macrons. They are essential in different iating between the meanings of words, as well as giving an indication of pronunciation and stress. For example, there is a great deal of difference between the following words:

kaka	clothing
kak	alight, i.e. on fire
kk	parrot
or	keke	cake
kek	creak
kk	armpit

There was a tendency in previous editions to list all words spelt the same way but with different vowel lengths under the same heading. This practice has been discon tinued, and indeed it will be noticed that macrons have been applied consistently throughout the dictionary to encourage better understanding and greater accuracy in pronunciation.

Prior to this edition there was a remarkable lack of essential and common words such as: whare paku, whare iti toilet, lavatory Also words describing certain parts of the anatomy and their functions, absent from previous editions, have now been included. It is hoped that these alterations will make this dictionary more interesting, useful and worthwhile. He tao rkau e taea te karo He tao k e kore e taea te karo! A wooden shaft can be parried, Not so a verbal one! T.S. Kretu
University of Waikato, 1983