Editing Māori language (section)

===History===
There was originally no native writing system for Māori. It has been suggested that the [[petroglyphs]] once used by the Māori developed into a script similar to the [[Rongorongo]] of Easter Island.<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Aldworth|title=Rocks could rock history|url=http://nzherald.co.nz/hamilton-news/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503366&objectid=11062720|access-date=5 May 2017|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=12 May 2012|archive-date=21 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821183048/http://www2.nzherald.co.nz/hamilton-news/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503366&objectid=11062720|url-status=live}}</ref> However, there is no evidence that these petroglyphs ever evolved into a true system of writing. Some distinctive markings among the {{lang|mi|kōwhaiwhai}} (rafter paintings) of meeting houses were used as mnemonics in reciting {{lang|mi|whakapapa}} (genealogy) but again, there was no systematic relation between marks and meanings.

Attempts to write Māori words using the [[Latin script]] began with Captain James Cook and other early explorers, with varying degrees of success. Consonants seem to have caused the most difficulty, but medial and final vowels are often missing in early sources. [[Anne Salmond (historian)|Anne Salmond]]<ref name="Salmond 1997">{{cite book | last=Salmond | first=Anne | author-link=Anne Salmond (historian) | date=1997 | title=Between Worlds: Early Exchanges between Maori and Europeans, 1773–1815 | location=Auckland | publisher=Viking}}</ref> records ''aghee'' for aki (in the year 1773, from the North Island East Coast, p.&nbsp;98), ''Toogee'' and ''E tanga roak'' for Tuki and Tangaroa (1793, Northland, p.&nbsp;216), ''Kokramea'', ''Kakramea'' for Kakaramea (1801, Hauraki, p.&nbsp;261), ''toges'' for tokis, ''Wannugu'' for Uenuku and ''gumera'' for kumara (1801, Hauraki, pp.&nbsp;261, 266 and 269), ''Weygate'' for Waikato (1801, Hauraki, p.&nbsp;277), ''Bunga Bunga'' for pungapunga, {{transliteration|mi|tubua}} for tupua and ''gure'' for kurī (1801, Hauraki, p.&nbsp;279), as well as ''Tabooha'' for Te Puhi (1823, Northern Northland, p.&nbsp;385).

From 1814, missionaries tried to define the sounds of the language. [[Thomas Kendall]] published a book in 1815 entitled ''[[A korao no New Zealand]]'', which in modern orthography and usage would be {{lang|mi|He Kōrero nō Aotearoa}}. Beginning in 1817, professor [[Samuel Lee (linguist)|Samuel Lee]] of [[Cambridge University]] worked with the [[Ngāpuhi]] chief [[Tītore]] and his junior relative Tui (also known as Tuhi or Tupaea),<ref name="TIT3">{{cite web |last=Brownson |first=Ron |date=23 December 2010 |title=Outpost |url=http://aucklandartgallery.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/wonderful-letter-from-titore.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126125709/http://aucklandartgallery.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/wonderful-letter-from-titore.html |archive-date=26 January 2018 |access-date=13 January 2018 |publisher=Staff and friends of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki}}</ref> and then with chief [[Hongi Hika]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hika|first1=Hongi|title=Sample of Writing by Shunghie [Hongi Hika] on board the Active|url= https://marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0054_068#page/1/mode/1up |website=Marsden Online Archive |publisher=University of Otago |access-date=25 May 2015|archive-date=25 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150525142749/http://marsdenarchive.otago.ac.nz/MS_0054_068#page/1/mode/1up |url-status=live}}</ref> and his junior relative [[Waikato (rangatira)|Waikato]]; they established a definitive orthography based on Northern usage, published as the ''First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language'' (1820).<ref name="TIT3"/> The missionaries of the [[New Zealand Church Missionary Society|Church Missionary Society (CMS)]] did not have a high regard for this book. By 1830 the CMS missionaries had revised the [[orthography]] for writing the Māori language; for example, 'Kiddeekiddee' was changed to the modern spelling, '[[Kerikeri]]'.<ref name="TMR55">{{cite web |date=1831 |title=The Missionary Register |url=http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=3065&page=0&action=null |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218032056/http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=3065&page=0&action=null |archive-date=18 February 2018 |access-date=9 March 2019 |publisher=[[Early New Zealand Books]] (ENZB), [[University of Auckland Library]] |pages=54–55}}</ref>{{primarysourceinline|date=September 2024}}

The Māori embraced [[literacy]] enthusiastically, and missionaries reported in the 1820s that Māori all over the country taught each other to read and write, using sometimes quite innovative materials in the absence of paper, such as leaves and charcoal, and [[Flax in New Zealand|flax]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=May |first1=Helen |last2=Kaur |first2=Baljit |last3=Prochner |first3=Larry |title=Empire, Education, and Indigenous Childhoods: Nineteenth-Century Missionary Infant Schools in Three British Colonies |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-14434-2 |page=206 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C1cfDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA206 |access-date=16 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Missionary [[James West Stack]] recorded the scarcity of slates and writing materials at the [[native schools]] and the use sometimes of "pieces of board on which sand was sprinkled, and the letters traced upon the sand with a pointed stick".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stack |first1=James West |editor1-last=Reed |editor1-first=Alfred Hamish |editor1-link=Alfred Hamish Reed |title=Early Maoriland adventures of J.W. Stack |date=1938 |page=217}}</ref>

==== Long vowels ====
The alphabet devised at Cambridge University does not mark vowel length. The examples in the following table show that vowel length is phonemic in Māori.

{| {{table}}
| ''ata''||morning||'''''ā'''ta''|| carefully
|-
| ''keke''||cake||''k'''ē'''k'''ē'''''|| armpit
|-
| ''mana''||prestige||''m'''ā'''na''|| for him/her
|-
| ''manu''||bird||''m'''ā'''nu''|| to float
|-
| ''tatari''||to wait for||''t'''ā'''tari''|| to filter or analyse
|-
| ''tui''||to sew||''t'''ūī'''''|| [[parson bird]]
|-
| ''wahine''||woman||''w'''ā'''hine''|| women
|-
|}
Māori devised ways to mark vowel length, sporadically at first. Occasional and inconsistent vowel-length markings occur in 19th-century manuscripts and newspapers written by Māori, including macron-like [[diacritic]]s and doubling of letters. Māori writer [[Henry Matthew Stowell|Hare Hongi (Henry Stowell)]] used macrons in his ''Maori-English Tutor and Vade Mecum'' of 1911,<ref name="Stowell">{{cite book |title=Maori-English Tutor and Vade Mecum |first=Henry M. |last=Stowell |author-link=Henry Matthew Stowell |isbn=9781443778398 |date=November 2008 |publisher=Read Books }} This was the first attempt by a Māori author at a grammar of Māori.</ref> as does Sir [[Āpirana Ngata]] (albeit inconsistently) in his ''Maori Grammar and Conversation'' (7th printing 1953). Once the Māori language was taught in universities in the 1960s, vowel-length marking was made systematic. [[Bruce Biggs]], of [[Ngāti Maniapoto]] descent and professor at the [[University of Auckland]], promoted the use of double vowels (e.g. ''waahine''); this style was standard at the university until Biggs died in 2000.

Macrons ({{lang|mi|tohutō}}) are now the standard means of indicating long vowels,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Apanui |first1=Ngahiwi |title=What's that little line? He aha tēnā paku rārangi? |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96579604/whats-that-little-line-he-aha-tena-paku-rarangi |access-date=16 June 2018 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |publisher=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616053312/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96579604/whats-that-little-line-he-aha-tena-paku-rarangi |url-status=live }}</ref> after becoming the favoured option of the [[Māori Language Commission]]—set up by the Māori Language Act 1987 to act as the authority for Māori spelling and orthography.<ref name="macrons">{{cite web |url=http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/pub_e/conventions3.shtml#Part_One_  |title=Māori Orthographic Conventions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906110915/http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/pub_e/conventions3.shtml#Part_One_ |archive-date=6 September 2009 |publisher=Māori Language Commission |access-date=11 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Keane |first1=Basil |title=Mātauranga hangarau – information technology – Māori language on the internet |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/matauranga-hangarau-information-technology/page-3 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=29 June 2017 |date=11 March 2010}}</ref> Most news media now use macrons; [[Stuff (company)|Stuff]] websites and newspapers since 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96578644/why-stuff-is-introducing-macrons-for-te-reo-maori-words.html|title=Why Stuff is introducing macrons for te reo Māori words|website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=10 September 2017|language=en|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> [[TVNZ]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/why-are-macrons-so-important-in-te-reo-m-ori-just-ask-weta-workshop|title=Seven Sharp – Why are macrons so important in te reo Māori|website=tvnz.co.nz|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011013755/https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/why-are-macrons-so-important-in-te-reo-m-ori-just-ask-weta-workshop|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[New Zealand Media and Entertainment|NZME]] websites and newspapers since 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/horowhenua-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503788&objectid=12048013|title=Official language to receive our best efforts|author=Staff Reporters|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|access-date=10 October 2018|language=en-NZ|issn=1170-0777|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407170646/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/horowhenua-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503788&objectid=12048013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Technical limitations in producing macronised vowels are sometimes resolved by using a [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Keane |first1=Basil |title=Mātauranga hangarau – information technology – Māori language on the internet |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/matauranga-hangarau-information-technology/3 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=16 February 2020 |date=11 March 2010}}</ref> or [[circumflex]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Indigenous Cultural Heritage and Intellectual Property Rights|page=1|first1=Jessica Christine|last1=Lai|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-02955-9|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-02954-2|date=2014|location=Switzerland}}</ref> instead of a macron (e.g., wähine or wâhine). In other cases, it is resolved by omitting the macron all together (e.g. wahine).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-09 |title=About My Health Account |url=https://info.health.nz/services-support/websites-and-apps/my-health-account/about-my-health-account |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Health Information and Services |quote=If your name contains letters with accents or macrons, type in the letter only, without the accent or macron. Our document-checking service does not recognise letters with accents or macrons.}}</ref>

Double vowels continue to be used in a few exceptional cases, including:
* The [[Waikato Tainui|Waikato-Tainui]] iwi preference is for using doubled vowels;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://waikatomuseum.co.nz/exhibitions-and-events/view/2145882619|title=Te Wiki o Te Reo Maaori Discovery Trail – Waikato Museum|website=waikatomuseum.co.nz|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213536/http://waikatomuseum.co.nz/exhibitions-and-events/view/2145882619|url-status=live}}</ref> hence in the [[Waikato]] region, double vowels are used by the [[Hamilton City Council (New Zealand)|Hamilton City Council]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hamilton.govt.nz/Pages/Maori-Language-Week-2017.aspx|title=Māori Language Week 2017 – Hamilton City Council |website=hamilton.govt.nz |language=en-NZ|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=31 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731151817/https://www.hamilton.govt.nz/Pages/Maori-Language-Week-2017.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Waikato District Council]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wdcsitefinity.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity-storage/docs/default-source/your-council/plans-policies-and-bylaws/plans/district-plan-review/proposed-district-plan-chapters/13-definitions-notified-18072018.pdf?sfvrsn=f4cf80c9_2|title=Proposed District Plan (Stage 1) 13 Definitions|date=18 July 2018|website=Waikato District Council|page=28|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213630/https://wdcsitefinity.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity-storage/docs/default-source/your-council/plans-policies-and-bylaws/plans/district-plan-review/proposed-district-plan-chapters/13-definitions-notified-18072018.pdf?sfvrsn=f4cf80c9_2|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Waikato Museum]].
* [[Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand)|Inland Revenue]] continues to spell its Māori name {{lang|mi|Te Tari Taake}} instead of {{lang|mi|Te Tari Tāke}}, mainly to reduce the resemblance of {{lang|mi|tāke}} to the English word 'take'.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/taxes/page-8 |title= Taxes – Tax, ideology and international comparisons |first= Paul |last= Goldsmith |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |date= 13 July 2012 |access-date= 14 June 2013}}</ref> 
* A considerable number of governmental and non-governmental organisations continue to use the older spelling of {{angbr|[[roopu]]}} ('association') in their names rather than the more modern form {{angbr|rōpū}}. Examples include [[Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa]] ('the national Māori weavers' collective') and {{lang|mi|Te Roopu Pounamu}} (a Māori-specific organisation within the [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand]]).
* Double vowels are also used instead of macrons in long vowels resultant from [[Compound (linguistics)|compounding]] (e.g. [[Mātaatua]]) or [[reduplication]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/dictionary-info | title=Māori Dictionary Project | access-date=26 November 2020 | archive-date=2 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202160318/https://maoridictionary.co.nz/dictionary-info | url-status=live }}</ref>