No comments about He Pitopito Korero no te Perehi Maori: Readings from the Maori-Language Press.

4 comments about Beginner's Maori (Beginner's (Foreign Language)).

1. The nearly complete lack of teach-yourself material on New Zealand's Maori language compels me to give the book 3 stars as I believe it is the only one to be found. The linguistic problem is the author's inattention to mark vowel length as well as poorly explaining certain consonants. However, Harawira's use of Maori texts and songs is rather charming. Invest in this book with caution.



2. This book got me off to a good start and I consider it to be a bargain for the price. If you're in any doubt about this book, buy it. It's worth every cent.



3. This book was created some time ago. Some of the subject matter reflects this fact. It is a good brief intro to the language but has a major flaw. There are two sets of vowels, the short and the long vowel. It is very important to pronounce the vowel properly or the meaning of the word can be changed. This book represents all vowels as short vowels, thus the student incorrectly learns the word.



4. not very user friendly. i was hoping to open the book and be able to find every day phrases. instead it was broken down by grammatical points. i suppose it explains things well, but it takes a lot of time and focus - not for someone planning on visiting there soon and hoping to learn the basics.

No comments about Teach Yourself Maori.

No comments about First Thousand Words in Maori.

No comments about Korero Tahi: Talking Together.

2 comments about Let's Learn Maori.

1. I used the previous edition of this book, and thought it was the best book from which to learn Maori. This edition is even better - the explanations of the grammar are even clearer. The only improvement needed is to add audio tapes to help with the pronunciation.



2. My earliest attempts at trying to understand the structure of a Polynesian language (Hawaiian) didn't get very far, principally because I found the authors' explanations of phrase structure confusing. Once I had read Bruce Biggs' explanation of Polynesian phrase structure, et al., in his book, "Let's Learn Maori" (LLM), everything started falling into place. His discription of Maori "parts of speech" is also clear and precise. He also keeps his explanation and examples of the verbal particles simple. There is a lot to recommend this book for the serious student of the Maori language, especially when LLM is used with the audio tapes that go with the text, but I would also recommend at least one other text to study along with LLM; one recommendation is John Foster's "He Whakamarama: A Full Self-Help Course in Maori" (with audiotapes), and an out-of-print book by Hoani R. Waititi, "Te Rangatahi" books 1 and 2 -- I have the 1970 edition.
   
   It should be noted that LLM has one "curious" feature that some may find "offputting": Polynesian languages have both long and short vowels, and most grammars, if they represent this important distinction at all, use macrons to represent the long vowels. Biggs follows the convention of the University of Auckland by representing long vowels with doubled letters: manu 'bird', maanu 'afloat'; tupuna 'grandparent', tuupuna 'grandparents'.
   
   "Let's Learn Maori" is an excellent text for gaining a deeper understanding of the structure of this beautiful language, but the author's intent, I surmise, was that it should be used as a supplemental resource while using other basic grammar texts and materials. I highly recommend this book for any serious student of Maori.

No comments about English-Maori, Maori-English Dictionary.

1 comments about Rere Atu, Taku Manu!: Discovering History, Language, and Politics in the Maori Language Newspapers, 1842-1933.

1. My students call this book "boring" but I think that is because it's their first exposure to Maori history and the book is very dense. It assumes a certain amount of knowledge about New Zealand, so I recommend Phillipa Mein Smith's Concise History of New Zealand or Michael King's history of New Zealand as an introduction. The book is has Maori language text that is then translated into English. Even if you don't speak or read Maori the rhythm of the language comes through and it's possible to see the formality of their greetings and the stylized, elegant cadence of Polynesian. The relationship of the Maori to the newspapers is interesting, since most were not edited by Maori even though they were produced for Maori. It is clear how important literacy was for Maori, who readily took to the written word, even though they were and known for spectacular oratory.

No comments about Maori: A Linguistic Introduction (Linguistic Introductions).

No comments about The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary.