# The New Zealand Accent **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2013, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449 "2013-12-16T09:52:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/201 "2013-12-21T08:58:06Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Ya know, **Ben-wynyard** , it’s certainly your prerogative to post about how much you despise Americans, in this thread you started that is addressed to Americans, on a board owned by an American newspaper and administered by Americans in an American city, on which half the posters are Americans; but when you are pouring your magnificent Antipodean scorn on our fat, provincial, drone-bombin’ asses, would you at least spell your insults correctly? It’s “Yankee”. > > Based on my visit to New Zealand, I _had_ formed the impression that you would pretty much have to slap his momma to get a Kiwi to be rude; thanks for shattering that stereotype. Ignorance fought! You were lucky! I guess you didn’t walk around K road on a Saturday night then. Kiwis don’t leave the country as fast as possible because everyone is so pleasant to each other. However, because the government confiscated all the handguns, people just bottle each other rather than shooting them, though the multitude of gangs have a penchant for big boots to the head. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/202 "2013-12-21T09:07:48Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > To the best of my knowledge “haere mai” is hello and “haere ra” is goodbye. At least that is what they put on boards entering and exiting towns. More or less. “Haere Mai” is “Welcome” and “Haere Ra” is “Farewell.” Other greetings include “Tena Koe” which means “Hello” to one person (it’s “Tena Koutou” for a crowd of people), or the more commonly heard “Kia Ora” which literally means “Be Healthy.” “Aroha” which is similar to the Hawaiian “Aloha” is not a greeting, it means “Love.” I guess, after some etymological twists and turns, Hawaiians use it in an affectionate sense. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/203 "2013-12-21T10:57:33Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Well why didn’t your boy Pear[s]e \*fly \*the word out in his aeroplane? Riddle me that one, kiwi crew. 😛 Besides the fact aircraft capable of flying between New Zealand and its nearest neighbour Australia weren’t around until the 1920s, It’s highly likely Pearse managed to get a winged, powered craft airborne under a semblance of controlled flight around early 1903. However, Pearse himself realised the Wrights were far in advance of anything he was going to achieve and is understood to have decided to bow out of the public debate on the subject by simply letting the Wrights have the credit for first powered flight, rather than getting involved in an argument over technicalities. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/204 "2013-12-21T11:05:41Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > “Aroha” which is similar to the Hawaiian “Aloha” is not a greeting, it means “Love.” I guess, after some etymological twists and turns, Hawaiians use it in an affectionate sense. Maybe this reflects some Japanese influence on the NZ native population. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/205 "2013-12-21T11:47:53Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > However, Pearse himself realised the Wrights were far in advance of anything he was going to achieve… Aeroplanes would have looked [very different](http://www.nzine.co.nz/Links/images/1.jpg) if they’d followed his lead. I think Pearse’s success was pure dumb luck, and didn’t really utilise the principles of flight very well at all. He was right to step back. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/206 "2013-12-21T14:11:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Aeroplanes would have looked [very different](http://www.nzine.co.nz/Links/images/1.jpg) if they’d followed his lead. I think Pearse’s success was pure dumb luck, and didn’t really utilise the principles of flight very well at all. He was right to step back. I would agree with that. Mr Pearse might have technically gotten a powered, heavier-than-air craft to fly first but he wasn’t in a position to do much with that achievement. He was a South Canterbury “Gentleman Farmer” and as you say, I think a fair bit of luck was involved in his success. I believe he was on the right track, though, but I also respect his decision vis-a-vis giving the Wrights the credit. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/207 "2013-12-21T15:11:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Aeroplanes would have looked [very different](http://www.nzine.co.nz/Links/images/1.jpg) if they’d followed his lead. To be fair, modern aircraft don’t look much like the Wright Flyer either. It’s rare that the products of a well-developed technology closely resemble what was done in its early days. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/208 "2013-12-21T15:21:59Z")
Yeah, my iPhone looks nothing like the blanket and fire pit my great great grandfather used. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/209 "2013-12-22T04:02:50Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Me too. I was hiking on Waiheke Island when I strayed off the trail and onto a guy’s private land. Instead of barreling out to ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard, he walked out to politely ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard. We actually had a very nice chat for about a half-hour, and then he put me right. Just about typical of my experiences with Kiwis. > > On the other hand, there’s a certain degree of irony about the OP: his “my-country-and-fuck-you” jingoism sounded very…dare I say it?.. American. Actually, you’ll find that chauvinism is a French word. Just can’t explain it. Dare I say it? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/210 "2013-12-22T06:24:08Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Actually, you’ll find that chauvinism is a French word. > > Just can’t explain it. Dare I say it? Yes, I know about the possibly apocryphal M. Chauvin. But wrapping yourself in the flag and singing that awful Lee Greenwood song seems to be a stereotype of us Yankees. And to be honest, not a completely unjustified one, either. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/211 "2013-12-23T08:40:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > One time in Nepal, I, an American native speaker of English, could not understand the English of a local park guide very well. But my Thai wife could understand his English and so acted as an interpreter. Something there about odd accents, but I don’t know what. That reminds me of the time I had to translate for a Korean and a Fijian. Both were speaking English but neither could understand the other. However, I could understand both of them and both could understand me. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/212 "2013-12-23T08:55:46Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Me too. I was hiking on Waiheke Island when I strayed off the trail and onto a guy’s private land. Instead of barreling out to ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard, he walked out to politely ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard. We actually had a very nice chat for about a half-hour, and then he put me right. Just about typical of my experiences with Kiwis. > > On the other hand, there’s a certain degree of irony about the OP: his “my-country-and-fuck-you” jingoism sounded very…dare I say it?.. American. Yep you can say it - and I would happily dis-own him and send him on his way to join you if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/213 "2013-12-23T09:47:17Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > That reminds me of the time I had to translate for a Korean and a Fijian. Both were speaking English but neither could understand the other. However, I could understand both of them and both could understand me. It’s been my experience that Americans struggle with non-American or British English accents for some reason. I’ve seen several US TV shows where someone educated from a foreign country (like France) is speaking perfectly understandable English and it’s subtitled. 😕 I’ve also seen people from Australia and New Zealand subtitled on American TV - and no, they weren’t speaking in weird slang or anything. It’s odd and also slightly offensive. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/214 "2013-12-23T10:17:40Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > It’s been my experience that Americans struggle with non-American or British English accents for some reason. I’ve seen several US TV shows where someone educated from a foreign country (like France) is speaking perfectly understandable English and it’s subtitled. 😕 > > I’ve also seen people from Australia and New Zealand subtitled on American TV - and no, they weren’t speaking in weird slang or anything. It’s odd and also slightly offensive. Yeah I saw that as well - that cyclist woman Philipa something? (she won an Olympics cycling gold I think) Was on some sort of extreme challenge and she was being subtitled in english while speaking english…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/215 "2013-12-23T13:25:24Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Me too. I was hiking on Waiheke Island when I strayed off the trail and onto a guy’s private land. Instead of barreling out to ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard, he walked out to politely ask me what the hell I was doing in his back yard. We actually had a very nice chat for about a half-hour, and then he put me right. Just about typical of my experiences with Kiwis. > > On the other hand, there’s a certain degree of irony about the OP: his “my-country-and-fuck-you” jingoism sounded very…dare I say it?.. American. Heh, that reminds me of something my parents told me - they used to live in a rural area, about 30 minutes drive out of Christchurch. They had a young European couple turn up at their house, lost. They were looking for a B&B where they had booked to stay for a week. Mum and Dad looked at their handwritten map, couldn’t understand it, so invited them to stay with them, and took them round the sights. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/216 "2013-12-23T14:15:05Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Yeah I saw that as well - that cyclist woman Philipa something? (she won an Olympics cycling gold I think) Was on some sort of extreme challenge and she was being subtitled in english while speaking english…:rolleyes: I’ve seen the “Subtitled English Speakers thing” on more than one occasion in US, often in really incongruous places like in serious documentaries. “Jarring” doesn’t even begin to cover it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/217 "2013-12-23T15:47:39Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’ve seen the “Subtitled English Speakers thing” on more than one occasion in US, often in really incongruous places like in serious documentaries. “Jarring” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Not just the US. I’ve seen BBC do it too. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/218 "2013-12-23T22:40:52Z")
A friend of mine from Christchurch carries around her own subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/219 "2013-12-23T23:21:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Not just the US. I’ve seen BBC do it too. Admittedly I’ve seen the Beeb subtitle English speakers, but only in situations like “African warlord who speaks English as a third language (and not well)” or “Member of extremist group of a grainy video making demands” - I can’t say I’ve ever seen the BBC subtitle an English-speaking French doctor, South African history expert or an Eskimo national park ranger, for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449.md?page=10)