American Versus New Zealand Vocabulary

The New Zealand variation of English is called "New Zild" which is firmly based on British English.   For that reason, there are quite a few differences compared to American English, which resulted in a few blank looks in the first few years when I was speaking to Americans.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest mistakes you can make when learning American English is to imagine that there is such a thing!   There are many American Englishes, with regional variations in many parts of the country.   The differences I've noted below are all from experience, but they're not necessarily true everywhere in the country.   In the most unlikely places you'll find Americans using "New Zealand" vocabulary rather than the "American" vocabulary I've listed below!   I made the same mistake when I first came to America regarding "American" pronunciation.   I knew that there was a Southern accent, and I assumed that everyone else fitted into a pigeonhole which I labeled the Northern accent.   Of course there's no such thing, instead there's a New Jersey (perhaps I should say Noo Joisey) accent, a New England accent, a Mid-Western accent, a Minnesota or Northern Michigan accent, and a plethora of others!

One of the main things which separates New Zild from other types of English are the words borrowed from the language of the Maori, the polynesian inhabitants of New Zealand who arrived some 500 to 1000 years before Europeans.   The most striking evidence of these borrowed words is in the hundreds and hundreds of Maori placenames all over New Zealand, with some real tongue-twisters for the uninitiated, like Ngaruawahia, Paraparaumu, and the ultimate example: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which translates into English as "the place where Tamatea, the man with big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as 'landeater,' played his flute to his loved one".   It's considered by most of the people who know about such things to be the longest place name in the world.

Actually, Maori place names are really easier than English place names to pronounce, because they're totally phonetic, only pure vowels are used and there are only 16 letters in the Maori alphabet! 

Here's a list of ordinary Maori words which all New Zealanders know:

But there are plenty of other differences between New Zild and American English which have nothing to do with the Maori language: