814

 I  was disappointed with the second half of He Whiriwhinga. There were too many parliamentary speeches and rambling mythologies which meant that the language was such that it prevents one from getting into it.

809

Regarding the sentences from Te Kete Kupu, my score as of 17 September 2021 is 3.38. I interpret that to claim that I know the gist of example sentences for the "300 essential words in Māori". I consider that as useful progress, since three months ago I would have scored about 1.1.

The 300 essential words in this book and the examples of common uses have been selected from texts in Māori for young readers published between 1990 and 2004. The texts are taken from the Huia Corpus of Māori Texts for Children which have been developed with the support of the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

If I were to test myself on single words, rather than sentences, or through listening, my score would certainly have been lower. 

(BTW, there was no significant difference between the first and second halves.)

808

 I have almost completed my Excel document of all 600-odd Māori sample sentences from Te Kete Kupu. There are only about 50 sentences to go. After that, I'll be able to gain a sense of how much I have learned in three months, as I'll be able to calculate an average score out of 5. Assuming that my average score at the beginning would have been between zero and 1, we'll see how much subjective progress has been made.

I will also be able to determine how much progress might have been made in the past few days by doing the same calculations for the first 300 versus the second 300 sentences.

807

 As part of Māori week, I took part in a survey. Can you do this? Can you do that? How many songs do you know? Can you introduce yourself? And so on and so forth.

One question asked how many words (in Māori) that you know? It's not so easy to answer.

You see, levels of knowledge are involved. 

You may know a word when you read it. You need the time. You may recognize it in context, but it's harder to recognize it alone. The same applies to recognizing it spoken i.e. stand-alone, or in a sentence. How much of a pause do you need? Can you recognize it as part of a streaming text? Can you recognize it in a conversation, when your attention is divided?

806

 I just noticed that it's te reo Māori week. It's already the second day. It may be a good idea, therefore, to see if there is any useful information floating about.

And so there is!

On Otago Polytechnic's Tūhono page, I discovered an item about how to add a macron above long vowels. I've used that technique twice already in this post. As long as one's language setting is ENG MI then all you need to do is hold the ~ key down as you press your letter (both for lower case and capital).

Cool!

805 Update

 Just as we receive upgrades of software, and update word documents, the same sort of thing applies with language learning, it seems to me.

Each time that you register a word, grammar pattern, spelling, usage, meaning, you increase your knowledge of that item. I feel that process going on with my Maori.

804

 My second day of typing 300 example sentences onto an Excel spreadsheet. Of course, many more than 300 items of vocabulary are included.

It is interesting to see where there are gaps in my exposure to date. That primes me to become better able to absorb them in the future.

803

 I've returned to a resource that I first mentioned a few weeks ago: Te Kete Kupu. I looked useful then, but I was stumped about how to make use of it. You see, it has example sentences for the most essential 300 Maori words . . . but without translations.

So the idea that occurred to me during the night was to copy out those 100-odd sentences, attributing to each a number from 1 to 5 according to how well I understood the overall meaning. That ought to yield data. It ought to help me track my progress if I re-attribute every few months.

In the meantime, I'll skip my daily Gold List exercise.

802

 I went looking online for Youtube videos about te reo Maori. I came across one by Grant Whitbourne that recommended the book Te Rangatahi as the best Maori resource, according to the speaker.

I posted this comment:

I have my own copy of Book 1 (reprinted in 1973). I would agree with you that Te Rangatahi is good, but I don't think it is as good as it could be. Strengths (in my opinion) narratives, illustrations, simplicity, many useful sentences, and structures. Weaknesses (again in my opinion) insufficient scaffolding, unclear objectives (since section headings are in Maori), too many exercises and gap fills, and a 'backwards' arrangement of each chapter i.e. it starts with a narrative which it then breaks down. I would like to see a more bilingual approach where the Maori and the English texts are set side by side. The overall approach of this book is 90% left-brain-style thinking, and only 10% right-brain-style thinking.

801

 The other day, I happened to remember a comment made by Stephen Krashen. It concerned the question of which languages were easier to learn and why that might be so. He said that, in his opinion, it depended on whether or not a bank of easily-read material existed in that language. If it did, then that language would be easier to learn.

If this is so, then a simple way to promote a particular language would be to ensure that there were enough useful and freely available books. 

Unfortunately, I have found that Maori resources often exist behind some sort of paywall. Given the fact that you need to read a lot in order to improve, it may not be economically feasible for an individual to pay for it all.

800

 By now, I've learned the longest place name in the world, as I set out to do 60 days ago. But that name isn't standardized; there are different versions. 

One version didn't have turi, the word for 'knee'. That's important, as the word refers to to exploits of one Tamatea known for his knobbly knees.

So today, going over my Goldilocks sentences and phrases, the word 'turi' registered with me the third time that I re-copied the phrase: too te turi (up to the knee). That's an example of how my learning material meshes.

So anyway: Te Taumatawhakatangihangakoouauaotemateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupookaiwhenuakitaanatahu.

799

 I am grateful to my te reo routine as we approach the end of lockdown with its uncertainty and mandates around masks and the like. The regularity with my daily practice keeps me stable and grounded. It's good for my mental health!

798

 Today's topic may be contentious. I would like to address the connection between te reo Maori and the rest of the Maori culture. 

I've heard it said that you cannot learn the Maori language disconnected from the history, the societal culture, the traditions, and the spiritual/religious aspects of Maori life. And I think that that could be a drawback.

I'm wondering if this inclusivity may not put many people off learning the language. Personally, I have connections to several different nationalities. What I do is to pick and choose, creating my own culture on an elective basis.

I've no need for organized religion, for instance. I don't regard myself as a descendant of a people, tribe, or even family. I dislike speeches and singing.

Maybe there are Maori people who behave similarly. They may feel hesitant about learning the language (which could lead to other cultural aspects becoming accepted) if it necessitates having to accept the whole kit and caboodle. 

797

 My dominating thought today is how much pleasure I get out of understanding yet another feature of te reo Maori usage. That enjoyment is undiluted by the pressure of needing to remember, as I do not try nor do I expect to. Instead, I rest content that I understand whatever point I've noticed today. I know I'll mostly forget it, but will take less and less time to understand it on subsequent occasions until I have finally assimilated it all!

796

 I have already expressed my opinion concerning the difficulty level of text most suitable for learning a language (at least for me). It should be clear and simple, not verbose or overly 'literary'.

For a similar reason, I also suggest that subject matter is important. Over the past few days, I have tackled myth-type tales that involve a lot of cultural knowledge and names of historical characters and places. I'd rather not have to deal with that just yet. I'd rather get to grips with slice-of-life stories that will enable me to describe and navigate the world around me.

Yes, I know that many Maori people would regard language as being tied up with culture, and I would agree that the two are intertwined. Nevertheless - and again I speak only for myself - I would rather get the basics under my belt before venturing further afield.

795

 I've been amused by discovering words for things that the Maori of the past would not have encountered.  Words like waea puukoro (cell phone), paa taawhanawhana (bouncy castle), paahiketepaoro (basketball), and pouaka whakaata (television).

But then I realized that these words had to have been created in English as well!

794

 

The above book is meant o have won some prize. I don't much like it, I'm afraid, as I find it too verbose. Its sentences are too long, and the vocabulary is obstruse/abstruse. It is bilingual, but I don't know in which language it was originally written.

Simpler books are easier to follow. I'm at the stage where I can follow intermediate texts, where both languages exist side by side, and when the subject matter is from ordinary life. 

793

 I am pleased to complete my first dictionary worth of sample sentences today. I am happy to continue with sentences collected from a story. Dictionary sentences are dry by virtue of being taken out of context. Story sentences are juicier because they exist within a greater overall context.

My next book is the 20th-anniversary edition of I te Tiimatanga (In the Beginning).

792

 I learn words incrementally - that is, it takes many times before they stick. Some words, for some reason, stick better. Others not at all, so it would be a waste of time concentrating on those. A time will come when every word is 'sticky'.

At some stage in each word's journey, I will be able to recognize it on the page (as opposed to in my ear). I'll look at it, and after some seconds will recall its nearest English equivalent. From then on, my response rate decreases. It's as if my reaction time improves.

791

 There's a bit from a recent DarkHorse podcast that I heard the other day (that I have not been able to find again) that refers to scientific activity on the fringes. Apparently, most of what goes on there turns out to be useless, but all useful innovation originates there. Or, to put it simply, there are the ideas and there's the donkeywork.

I'm an ideas man, and I accept that 99 out of 100 of them lead nowhere. Ah, but that other one!

Anyway, and on another topic, I'm going to make a point of regularly watching Waka Huia programs. Each one thus far has had an impact on me. 

Whakaiti, whakaiti, whakaiti i ngaa waa katoa