762

 

Here's how it works:

From the above book, I collect such sentences that I mostly understand.

He tino hoa te tokorua nei. (I'm not really sure why 'nei' was used, or what 'tokorua' means - although I expect that it relates to 'two', but that will come. The rest of the sentence is easy to input if not output.)

I te wa o te koanga, oma tahi ai raua i runga i nga puke. (From the context I can predict that 'wa o te koanga' means 'season of spring'. The rest of the sentence helps me to remember this phrase.)

kia mahana ai raua i nga po makariri o te hotoke (This is a phrase from a longer sentence. I already recognize 'makariri' though I'm hazy on the meaning. But by have the word paired with 'mahana' - which is itself linked to 'night' - I firm up my understanding. I also become alerted to the word 'hotoke' and guess that it means 'winter'. I expect to either confirm or correct that fact later.)

I tehahi ra, i te wa o te hotoke, i pupuhi te hau, ka whakaueue nga rakau. (On the very next page, I confirm my guess. I also link puphi with hau, and get to see how the word 'whakaueue' is constructed.)

kei te matekai nga manu (This is a very useful phrase, allowing me to see how the word 'mate', which I knew can mean both death and sickness, may be combined with 'kai' to indicate hunger. Cool!

Finally, na te mea kua hohonu ake te noho o nga noke cements the word for 'worm' a little more firmly into place; I had seen it earlier this morning in another children's book. It may take several dozen exposures to a new word before it lodges in the brain.

761

Each day I look back to the sentences I collected (and have not since looked at) the same day the previous month. That's not possible for the 31st, of course. And so today I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms!

I'm also at a slight loss in the evenings, as I'll have completed my te reo Maori in the morning. So I believe that from now I will devote the evenings to Japanese, initially, and perhaps some of the other languages I have made a start on.

Won't that be too much?

No, it won't. Explanation to follow.

 

760

 I do find myself, when noting down sentences, having to refrain from examining them with a view to having to produce them in the future. I think that is what language learners tend to do. It's been drummed into us. 

Instead, I remind myself that learning the language consciously is not my job. The only thing I need to do is spend the time and pay requisite attention. The absorption/osmosis will occur by itself. The acquisition will occur automatically.

759

 The first edition of Te Rangatahi (Book 1) was written by Hoani Retimana Waititi (pictured above) and published in 1962. My reprint dates back to 1973, a time when I was still at high school.

What I like about the book is that each chapter starts off with a connected text in Maori that the rest of the chapter unravels. Yesterday I selected sentences from the fifth chapter (Te Wahanga Tuarima: Te Pamu a Hata) that I could only half understand, in the belief that by the time I got to the end of the chapter I would be confident concerning.

Hope that makes sense!

758

 The main activity I'm mainly on during these first two months of te reo - based on the David James's Gold List Method is one that will get my foot in the door. It is one that I would use with any language that uses mainly English letters (so I would consider proceeding with Polish but not with Russian). Thereafter, I shall introduce more 'Krashen-esque' techniques. More about that, then, in month three.

In the meantime, I'll review my gleanings from this video that I looked at in June.

757

 Sir Apirana Ngata's book on Maori grammar and conversation has 60 to 70 sections on the language used in various situational contexts. They reflect how life was at the time that the book was written (originally in 1926). Included are, for example, sections about Going on a steamboat, and Buying or hiring a carriage or horse.

Here are 10 things you might hear at a watchmaker's:

1. I bring you my watch to be repaired. (Ka kawea mai e ahau taku wati kia mahia e koe)
2. I fear it is broken. (E mea ana au kua pakaru pea)
3. When will you set about repairing it? (Ahea mahia ai e koe?)
4. I shall be obliged to keep it for a few days. (Waiho ra ki a au mo etahi rangi)
5. I want to purchase a silver watch. (Ka pirangi ahau ki te hoko i tetahi wati hiriwa)
6. The gold ones are better. (He pai atu nga mea koura)
7. Will you let me have it upon trial? (E pai ranei koe kia tukua mai ki a au kia whakamatauria?)
8. I cannot regulate it. (Kahore e taea e ahau te whakapai haere)
9. I should like to exchange it. (Ka pirangi ahau ki te whakawhiti)
10. Do you sell spectacles? (E hoko mowhiti ana ranei koe?

p.s. I'm pretty good with the purple bits

756

 

 

Following on from yesterday's topic of macrons, I find that other diacritics have been used to write te reo Maori. In Sir Apira Ngata's book: Maori Grammar & Conversation  (previously mention) I find several others. 

There are, apart from the macron, what looks like a 'smiley' curve, an upside-down 'v', the umlaut (those two Germanic dots), and the sloping line above the 'e' of cafe, except that it slopes the other way.

755

 

In some sense macrons used to intimidate me. What! Something else to remember if I ever chose to learn Maori?

But other language use diacritics. English is one of the few that doesn't. (Not unless you want to be fancy about a few words with French derivation e.g. café).

So I made it a rule to always place macrons above the vowels that required them. Now I'm used to them. More than that, I find them cute, especially the stroke above the long 'i'. Makes the letter look like a small capital 'T' whose horizontal has become detached.

754

I often walk to or from work. (It's a bit of a stretch doing both.)

So yesterday I browsed through an entire bilingual book. Kamatekapua by Aunty Bea. It is at an intermediate level and was long enough to last the entire distance. My first time too to find a typo in Maori that I could correct!

753

 When I started learning te reo a month ago, I didn't know very much at all. Initially, I had to collect sentences without knowing the overall meaning. I tried to select those that appeared simple enough for me to recognize them in a month's time when I would have more Maori under my belt.

And that's what happened. Today, looking over my 23 June 'batch' there were indeed several sentences I am now able to say that I understand. Thus I was able to leave them out.

Remember, my acid test is recognition. I am not saying that I would be able to produce those sentences; only that I would be able to understand them if I saw them on paper.

752

 

In the public library, I discovered what I consider the best resource so far. It is multimedia and bilingual. Its level of te reo is 'Globish'. Its length is just right. And there are about a dozen more by the same author.

The book's title is Ihenga, written, narrated, sung, and composed by Piatarihi Tui Yates (Aunty Bea).

The book comes with a CD that features additional songs. You can also listen to the narrative in both English and Maori. 

I find that after a month of perusing the Maori language I am able to follow along quite nicely to the spoken Maori version, glancing across to the English to confirm. 

I tried to contact the author to say how useful I find her material, but discovered that she passed away a few years ago. Rest in peace, Aunty Bea.

751

 A month ago, I wrote my very first page of Maori phrases. They were random in the sense that they came from anywhere and everywhere. They were not random in the sense that they were at the level (i+1) where they were useful to me at my current level of Maori.

I have not looked at that sheet since. I haven't read, studied, or tried to memorize it in any way. But some of it will have stayed in my long-term memory. 

My routine for the next month will be to copy out each sheet again. I'll pay attention to what I do. I shall omit the lines that I recognize well - perhaps a third or a quarter - and then fill up the rest of the page with new snippets. (I will also omit lines that I fail to recognize, as being too ambitious for now.) 

The aim each day is to end up with a page of useful (Goldilocks) sentences. 'Old' ones should still retain some juice. New ones will reflect my current level of te reo.

750

 Today I complete my first month of collecting te reo snippets. From tomorrow, I’ll do this differently (details soon).

In the meantime, I'll peruse a Maori legend. It's a story about Maui. I have to admit that I find Maori myths quite spooky. And there’s a reason for that.

From the age of 8 through to 12, I brushed up my English after 18 months abroad. For that, I read widely from my favorite shelf at the Children’s library on Upper Stuart Street. (Does anyone else recall it?) It was labeled ‘Myths and Legends from Many Lands’. Those short stories were exactly what I needed.

There were books from many lands and cultures. I became familiar with Andersen and the Grimm brothers. But I found it eerie to delve into Maori tales about the underworld and the separation of the sky and the earth. So science-fiction was what I moved onto next.

 

749

 The Victorian is the name of an occasional return train trip between Dunedin and Oamaru. I took that day trip yesterday with my family. It was well worth it.

Along the way, I learned various facts about the region's history. Blueskin Bay is named after a Maori chief whose entire face was tattooed. The site of Johnny Jones's whale station at Karitane was pointed out. Waikouatiti means receding water. Seacliff Sanctuary was the largest building in New Zealand at the time it was built. 

And when I wasn't looking out the window, I read from the second in the autobiographical trilogy by  Mihipeka Edwards - Nga Wa Raruraru (Time of Turmoil).

748

 The most difficult thing about te reo is finding a book of text. Not a textbook, but a book actually in Maori meant for adult readers. Do children who learn the language using picture books stop reading once they are able to speak?

Somehow I own a copy of Nga Korero a Mohi Ruatapu. It is riveting reading! It was translated by Anaru Reedy in 1993, but the original text was composed in the 1870s. Anyone motivated to learn a language through history (for example Steve Kaufmann) would surely be as enthralled with this resource as I am.

747

 I was able to borrow books from the city library today, despite having left my card at Mosgiel the last time I was there. I took out 4 books from the Maori shelf in the children's section. 

Already I reach for books beyond beginner. Bilingual is best, but not necessary. As long as the sentence structure is simple, and the vocabulary is limited, I can proceed. What I need is the Maori version of Globish (Reobish?).

In fact, after four weeks I can visualize a 'route' for myself. I could design my own syllabus. One with lots of extra-curricular activities!

746

 I call what I do 'Right-brain learning'. But that's just a term. It's just the name of my rose, as it were.

Instead of doing the sort of thing that I mentioned in yesterday's post, I:

• Peruse swathes of Maori text daily
• Spend almost no time on pronunciation
• Work on my own
• Serially recognize words remembering a little more each time
• Handle whole sentences
• Forget words repeatedly to teach my brain which ones are important
• Seek a wide range of material

745

 Out of the blue, someone asked me yesterday whether I had ever tried learning te reo. "As it happens, I started 22 days ago. I'm doing it right-brain style."

The same person then proceeded to tell my wife and me how she went about it. These are some points:

• Subscribes to Kupu o te Ra (1 Maori word per day online)
• Spends a lot of time on correct pronunciation
• Prefers to have a teacher
• Memorization of words
• Avoids whole sentences
• Repeats a new word aloud 7 times to 'learn' it
• Avoids material outside of the word list

This to me seems totally left-brain. What I do is more or less the opposite.

744

 During my week of leave, the family visited Port Chalmers for a day trip. At the library there I explored the children's Maori language section.

I like that they have a number of bilingual stories, with the English and Maori equivalents on adjacent pages. That's a useful set-up. But what I don't find useful is when the writer goes all literary on the reader and tries to impress with long flowery convoluted sentences. I say that it shouldn't be about trying to impress the parents!

Anyway, I got out three books. I 'dove' straight into The Singing Dolphin when we got home.

743

 My work today, the 21st day, is from Sir Apirana Ngata's conversation and grammar book - the 6th edition published by Whitcombe and Tombs. It's old, true, but so am I!

I'm just browsing through it, skipping the odd paragraph when the information is more than I need to know. I recognize 'old friends' when I come across a grammar point that I already partially know. Some of the example sentences - involving for instance the 10th sheep - are quaint, and therefore quite memorable.

742

I came across the term 'optimal input' the other day. Here is a short video of 12 minutes in which Stephen Krashen explains exactly what it means.

Optimal input, therefore, is what I am after with respect to te reo.  

741

As part of my 6-month 1-hour-a-day Maori language challenge, I've decided to include an oral component. Each month, I'll incorporate rote-learning some text that I shall train myself to say aloud from memory.

Very well, let's get going. This month's challenge will be to be able to say the world's longest place name. 

Taumatawhakatangihangakōauauotamateapōkaiwhenuakitānatahu

740

 Why is it that all but two of the 96 Maori books in the Internet Archive are unavailable? There's only the Bible, and George Grey's  Poems, Traditions and Chaunts of the Maories (sic) published way back in 1853.

I wonder too about the pathway of children (and others) who have been bought along the road of te reo by children's books, only to discover that it ends (at a reading age of about 12). What happens then? Where are they supposed to go?

Unless you are surrounded by a rich and vibrant community, sporadic and superficial mini-conversations are not going to be enough to help you maintain your level, much less progress. That's how it appears to me, but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

739

 To amuse myself, I entered the Maori text of Hatupatu and the Birdwoman into (onto?) an Excel spreadsheet - one sentence per cell. A couple of sentences were repeated, so I only entered them once. A couple of the longer sentences could be cut in two.

I next arranged the sentences in order of 'comfort'. Those I could easily read went to the top. Those that I'm not yet ready to tackle went to the bottom.

There are just over 80 sentences in total. The easiest?

Kotari te manu i te ora.

The hardest?

Engari i uru he kuruaho ki ona whatu, ka tutuki, ka hinga, papahoro ana, ki roto i te wai-paru korohu.

 

738

 Hatupatu and the Birdwoman is the title of a children's book I own. Its size is gigantic; the book is designed to be read out in front of the classroom.

My copy is in Maori. Seeking online for the English version I discovered that it too had been published (10 years earlier). I was able to access the book at an open library and read it online. The only problem was that I couldn't print it out.

And so I dictated the work as a word document which I then mailed to myself. The text had errors, naturally. For instance, the last 2 syllables came out regularly as 'Potter'. (But 'Hatu' was never picked up as 'Harry'.)

737

 Someone whose ideas regarding language acquisition with which I mostly concur is Steve Kaufmann. He is an active YouTuber, and I watch his videos from time to time.

In this clip, Steve makes an interesting point. He feels that the success rate for learning a language is low mainly because the education system unwisely places emphasis on language production. If instead, it focused on comprehension, more useful results would follow.

With my Maori, that is what I am doing.

Caffeine

 According to Michael Pollan, caffeine fosters a more rational, linear, focused way of thinking.

Wigwam Weavers invented the coffee break!

Green tea has about a third as much caffeine as coffee.

736

A big challenge with learning a language is finding good resources. Today I searched 'online Maori picture books' and found this. Let me try to use it.

Whoops, that introductory music sounds 'pacific' rather than aotearoa. I take a closer look. This is a Cook Island Maori language site! 

That language uses apostrophes. I see the letter 'v' as well. I recognize the word for fish (ika) and many of the particle words seem the same.

This looks a better site for me to use.

735

 In Mihipeka: Call of an Elder (Karanga a te Kuia) by Mihi Edwards i read:

 Because we didn't have a written language, all words spoken by a kaumatua were automatically absorbed by the brain, the most wonderful organ of the body, the human computer. My kuia was careful to remind me when I was young to respect the mahunga (head) of the man, and never to pass food over that part of his body because it's so tapu. So many times the elders said our history and whakapapa are stored in the head.

To me this "automatic absorption" is reminiscent of massive comprehensible input. 

734

 Yesterday I was able to download a Maori word frequency list for the top 1000 words. I hadn't known one was available, so that's great. As expected, function words populate the top. I copied out the top 200 according to yesterday's plan. I also went through and began copying out the 340 most repeated words. 

Interestingly, I recognize a large number. There are also about a dozen words that have more than one meaning, sometimes as many as six (tau). 

733

 In the course of my work with languages, I came across Neri Rook, a Brazilian computer whiz. Using word frequency lists and banks of text, he has created an amazing resource for learning languages (over a dozen). 

He starts with the most common 200 words in a language. Then, does a computer analysis of a large corpus of written text in that language. An average frequency value is calculated for every sentence. Finally, a set of the easiest 10 sentences that include a common word is extracted and translated. In short, 2000 sentences for the 200 most common words.

The resource does not exist for Maori, so that gives me the opportunity to create one!

732

I'm finding many similarities between te reo Maori and Japanese. Both languages use what are in effect syllabaries, not alphabets. The five vowel sounds are identical, and also their long forms. The 'r' sound is 'clicked' rather than rolled. Adjectives can be used as verbs. Plural forms of nouns don't usually exist. The verb form does not conjugate in Maori; rather small participles are added in front of and after the word (in the case of Japanese they appear to be added to the verb, but in print consist several hiragana following kanji. Both languages existed in their spoken form for a long period and had to borrow the written conventions from elsewhere (Chinese for Japan,  English for te reo Maori).