This week I want to share one of the simplest ways to refresh your pronunciation skills. This is an area that many people express to me that they struggle with.
š”Did you know that EVERY word in our language finishes with a vowel?
That means that every syllable can be a combination of a consonant and a vowel. Therefore we can create a range of short "sounds" based on these combinations. By working on these short sounds you are working on the "building blocks" of our language!
I've put together a small table of these sound combinations that you can work on.
Pronouncing Vowels
The way we pronounce the vowels in Te Reo MÄori is as follows:
- a - like u in cut
- e - like e in hen
- I - like i in it
- o - like o in lord
- u - like o in two
- Ä - like a in half
- Ä - like ai in pair
- Ä« - like ee in feed
- Å - like o in store
- Å« - like oo in hoot
Pronouncing Consonants
- Pronouncing "ng"
Ng sound like the ng in sing. People can often say āsingā but struggle with āngā on its own. Try these ng sounds with vowels:- Singahhh (nga)
- Singehhh (nge)
- Singeee (ngi)
- Singaww (ngo)
- Singooo (ngu)
- Pronouncing "wh"
The wh sound is typically pronounced like the "f" sound, as in Friend. - Pronouncing "t"
T is often pronnounced in between the English T and D sound when preceding a, e and o (e.g. ta, te, to), but more of a distinct T sound when located before i and u, like the "t" sound in Test (e.g. ti, tu).
"How to say..." Video Series
This week I've started a new educational video series on YouTube called "How to say...". These are short, sharp, and to-the-point videos that are quick and easy to digest.
The purpose of this series is to help you to say different phrases in Te Reo MÄori with a particular focus on phrases and sentences that have nuances you might have had trouble understanding.
For example, I've created a video focusing on the question "how are you" including the different ways it can be asked and responded to.
You can check out the series here (it's a "playlist" on YouTube), with plenty of new videos to come!
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Thanks for reading this week's Newsletter.
Mauri ora!
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