# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/161 "2013-12-19T02:39:58Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Well if you’re going there - it should also be noted that New Zealand is principally made up of four islands, North, South, West and Stuart. The US is principally made up of four regions - the South, the West, the North, and New York. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/162 "2013-12-19T03:02:01Z")
How would you describe the NZ climate, especially in reference to Oz and other countries? Here in the US we sort of have this idea that Polynesia=tropical, I think largely due to Hawaii. Looking at NZ’s position on a map and a brief review of its Wikipedia article lead me to believe that the climate is likely more similar to the British Isles or New York than Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/163 "2013-12-19T03:44:50Z")
There was research a while back where so any NZers have moved to Queensland in particular, that the accent there has actually changed closer to NZ anyhow. I wouldnt expect anyone to tell the difference, I was extremely impressed as a 12 year old in the US when I was introduced to the class, and at least one kid could show where it was on the map. If you’d asked me to show where California was, a much larger place, I wouldn’t have had a chance, let alone many other larger countries. I want to ask an equivalent to ‘what colour was the watchhouse’, just to see who knows what, but nothing is coming to mind. Edit: NZ can get pretty cold or hot - lots of mountains, pretty wide variation for its size, as they have a big impact on local weather and climate, along with its comparatively long length. England felt closer than Polynesia for sure for me, I was in the middle of the north island. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/164 "2013-12-19T04:12:45Z")
I can almost always identify a Kiwi after a minute or two of listening. The accents are really not at all alike, other than having decidedly British roots. If you can find the episode of Flight of The Conchords wherein the boys are having a conversation with guys from the Australian consulate, the difference is easily heard. Ah, [here it is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buoztHLk9JQ). The Aussie accent is much broader, while the Kiwi accent is more clipped and the vowels shorter. ---
**Author:** ![Jaguars](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaguars/32/5879_2.png) [@Jaguars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaguars)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/165 "2013-12-19T06:08:22Z")
I just wanna say that this is the first true instance of Kiwi Nationalism I’ve seen on the net. I can’t wait to see the maps of Greater New Zealand… The West Island, Nauru, Western Samoa, and the Ross Sea Dependency! These are our Birthright! God Defend Nyuw Zilund! (Because our Navy’s too small to do the job!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/166 "2013-12-19T06:18:52Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > it holds many treasures as regards architecture, and wildlife > [@Xema](#): > > Yet it’s said that poachers are celebrated there. Well, without the wildlife, you can’t have the poachers… re “lowbrow and highbrow versifying”, the poet Tennyson (_In Memoriam_, _Idylls of the King_, etc.), was born in Lincolnshire. ---
**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 19, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/167 "2013-12-19T06:52:50Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > How would you describe the NZ climate, especially in reference to Oz and other countries? Here in the US we sort of have this idea that Polynesia=tropical, I think largely due to Hawaii. Looking at NZ’s position on a map and a brief review of its Wikipedia article lead me to believe that the climate is likely more similar to the British Isles or New York than Hawaii. It’s very much like the British Isles, mostly due to its proximity to the Antarctic (as the UK is close to the North Pole and Scandinavia), and the huge empty expanse of the South Pacific Ocean (as the UK has the North Sea and Atlantic). I lived in the southern part of NZ, the city of Dunedin, which was originally colonised by Scots, and in fact is named after Edinburgh; it’s just as rugged and exposed as parts of Scotland can be. [One of these](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38786500/otago.jpg) is Scotland, one is southern New Zealand. Note the similarity. ---
**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 19, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/168 "2013-12-19T08:29:48Z")
> [@Jaguars](#): > > I just wanna say that this is the first true instance of Kiwi Nationalism I’ve seen on the net. I can’t wait to see the maps of Greater New Zealand… The West Island, Nauru, Western Samoa, and the Ross Sea Dependency! These are our Birthright! > > God Defend Nyuw Zilund! (Because our Navy’s too small to do the job!) 😃 We’d probably nuke New Zealand if nukes weren’t banned there. But what can ya do? The law’s the law. ---
**Author:** ![Ben-wynyard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@Ben-wynyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben-wynyard)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/169 "2013-12-19T09:27:32Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Even if there was such a thing as an Every Nation In The World survey course in American schools, New Zealand would probably get about 40 seconds worth of lecture time. > > That’s a cool fact about the jet boat, but I’m afraid that most Americans (if they recognize the Kiwi concept at all), associate your country with [this](http://www.kiwishoeshine.com/Top-Rated_c_53.html?gclid=CNios9n2tLsCFbBFMgodywQASw). > > Not that it’s an inferior product mind you, but handling the cans is messy. LOL at the SHOE POLISH, I don’t even think most kiws use that brand. Well we have done alot of achievements for a small nation. we have contributed to the world as well and we told you Yankies to get your nukes and ships out of our waters. YOu didn’t like us telling you that, but our mother is England and she is your grandmother so you couldnt do anything ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/170 "2013-12-19T09:52:16Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > In fact, the biggest linguistic difference I saw between the two sides of the Tasman Sea was more a matter of social register. Australians seemed a bit more…informal, linguistically. For example, public facilities that would in the U.S. be labeled “Restrooms” or “Men’s Room/Ladies’ Room” were “Toilets”, in Sydney. I don’t remember noticing if the same held in Auckland or Rotarua. To be clear, that is the practice in the UK as well. It’s only Americans who shudder at calling a toilet a toilet. It’s perfectly polite in the rest of the anglophone world to say, “excuse me, where are the toilets?”. Nobody blushes. ---
**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 19, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/171 "2013-12-19T10:17:39Z")
> [@Jaguars](#): > > I just wanna say that this is the first true instance of Kiwi Nationalism I’ve seen on the net. I can’t wait to see the maps of Greater New Zealand… The West Island, Nauru, Western Samoa, and the Ross Sea Dependency! These are our Birthright! The funny thing is New Zealand still has overseas territories that are arguably self-governing colonies (The Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau). The inhabitants like the situation the way it is, though. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/172 "2013-12-19T11:46:27Z")
> [@Ben-wynyard](#): > > Well I will give you some little facts about New Zealand then. > > A New Zealand man was the first to Climb Mt Everst Sir Edmound Hillary > A New Zealander created the Jet Boat > A New Zealander split the Atom - Lord Rutherford > We are taught that it was Richard Pearce, a New Zealander that created the first plane, we were so far south, the word couldnt get out fast enough. > We speak two languages Maori and English > Our health care is free and education is accessible > Social security for all persons - Solo mums benefit sometimes outweighs a Middle Class mans income- go figure??? > World fastest Indians - New Zealand > Russle Crow is a Kiwi - but the aussies can have him > We were the first country to give women the right to vote back in the 1890s It is assumed that Hillary was first to the top, but it is more likely that he let the local chap go first, given that Hillary was a pretty decent guy. However, neither of them would say which it was, and we’ll never know. Free health care- BS. It costs to see a GP and you can’t get into the system any other way except by going to the emergency room and they don’t like to take cases that can go to a GP or clinic. I couldn’t believe how much it costs to see a GP ( it’s extortionate ) coming from the UK which really does have a free health care system. You also have to pay for prescriptions in NZ, though that is also true in the UK till age 60, though it is a fraction of the NZ cost. \ And how did that work out- Solo mums benefit sometimes outweighs a Middle Class mans income-! BTW, I don’t know anyone in NZ that speaks Maori, except Maoris, and a lot of them don’t. Are you a New Zealander? ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/173 "2013-12-19T11:52:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s very much like the British Isles, mostly due to its proximity to the Antarctic (as the UK is close to the North Pole and Scandinavia), and the huge empty expanse of the South Pacific Ocean (as the UK has the North Sea and Atlantic). I lived in the southern part of NZ, the city of Dunedin, which was originally colonised by Scots, and in fact is named after Edinburgh; it’s just as rugged and exposed as parts of Scotland can be. > > [One of these](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38786500/otago.jpg) is Scotland, one is southern New Zealand. Note the similarity. Just to be pedantic, if you go to the direct opposite side of the world, I believe NZ would be in France. The reason Britain isn’t much colder is down to the warm sea current that passes it. Ive been to Dunedin, and the Scots are welcome to it. Just to be on topic for a moment, I sometimes can’t tell the difference between an Ocker and a Kiwi, depending where the Ocker comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/174 "2013-12-19T12:00:21Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > To be clear, that is the practice in the UK as well. It’s only Americans who shudder at calling a toilet a toilet. It’s perfectly polite in the rest of the anglophone world to say, “excuse me, where are the toilets?”. Nobody blushes. Of course, “toilet” itself was originally a euphemism, meaning something like “dressing room”. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/175 "2013-12-19T12:05:05Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Of course, “toilet” itself was originally a euphemism, meaning something like “dressing room”. Ha! Indeed you are correct. I don’t see what’s wrong with ‘the bogs’. ---
**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 19, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/176 "2013-12-19T12:33:47Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Just to be pedantic, if you go to the direct opposite side of the world, I believe NZ would be in France. Spain, actually. But due to the various other factors mentioned, New Zealand will never be as warm as that. ---
**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 19, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/177 "2013-12-19T13:00:40Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Ha! Indeed you are correct. > > I don’t see what’s wrong with ‘the bogs’. Shitter’s full. ---
**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 19, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/178 "2013-12-19T13:26:44Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > It is assumed that Hillary was first to the top, but it is more likely that he let the local chap go first, given that Hillary was a pretty decent guy. However, neither of them would say which it was, and we’ll never know. Not quite true. We do know. [Tenzing Norgay finally did say it was Hillary who was first](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary#1953_Everest_expedition): **“Tenzing Norgay stated in his narration ‘The Dream Comes True’ that Hillary had indeed taken the first step atop Mount Everest, despite Hillary quoting that both had reached the summit at the same time.”** I suppose he could have been lying, but to what purpose? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/179 "2013-12-19T16:01:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > So you live in a small county nobody ever talks about, and you’re complaining? Listen, pal, I live in an even smaller country the rest of the world won’t shut up about. Count your blessings. Well, I live in a country with the same population size as Australia, but which hardly anyone recognizes as a nation. ☹ On the other hand, it’s now theorized that Taiwan is the original homeland for _all_ the Polynesians, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449/180 "2013-12-19T16:04:18Z")
ITT someone who isn’t from America gets mad that Americans don’t know as much about his country as he knows about America. Dude, it’s not OUR fault that cultural penetration is so one-sided. I’m not the media. You’re becoming a lame one-trick pony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-zealand-accent/676449.md?page=10)