Ground-breaking Maori dictionary a Montana New Zealand Book Awards finalist

Another release this am from Booksellers New Zealand (they must have been working all through the night!):

The first-ever monolingual Maori dictionary is a finalist in this year’s Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Tirohia Kimihia, written by Huia Publishers for the Ministry of Education competes in the reference and anthology section of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards alongside An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes by Michael Bayly and Alison Kellow and Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era: An Illustrated History 1830-1900 by William Cottrell.

The learner dictionary took a team of five linguists seven years to complete.

Huia Publishing Managing Director, Robyn Bargh said the dictionary, sends a powerful message to learners of the language that the world can be described and discussed entirely through the medium of Maori rather than English.

‘Total immersion in a language is known to be the fastest way to learn; there was a real need for a monolingual Maori dictionary and it’s a major milestone that Tirohia Kimihia is published.’

Montana New Zealand Book Awards Te Reo advisor, Hone Apanui says the dictionary is long overdue, particularly with the renaissance of te reo Màori over the past decade.

‘Tirohia Kimihia is the first all Máori language dictionary aimed at learners of Máori,’ Mr Apanui says.

Tirohia Kimihia is unique in that the words have been chosen based on their frequency of use. There are approximately 3500 headwords in the dictionary, and more than 6000 meanings are defined. The focus of the dictionary is on content words, so the headwords are mostly verbs, nouns and adjectives.

The principal sponsors of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards are Montana and Creative New Zealand. The awards are managed by Booksellers New Zealand and supported by Book Publishers Association of New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd.


The 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Monday July 30th at Sky City Convention Centre.


Pukapuka Taki Kupu Màori kua uru ki ngà tohu pukapuka a Montana

Kua tau he pukapuka taki kupu Màori ki roto i ngà tohu pukapuka otinga a Montana, koia pea te pukapuka pènei i te ao kua tàia ki te reo Màori anake.

Kei te whakataetae a Kimihia Tirohia, nà Huia i tuhi mà Te Tàhuhu o Te Màtauranga, i roto i te wàhanga whakapuaki - paenga kòrero o Ngà Tohu Pukapuka a Montana. Kei tòna taha ko An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes nà Michael Bayly ràua ko Alison Kellow me Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era: An Illustrated History 1830-1900 nà William Cottrell.

E whitu tau ètahi tohunga reo e rima e hanga ana i te pukapuka àkonga nei.

I kì a Robyn Bargh te Kaità matua o Huia, ko te mea nui kei te puta i te pukapuka nei ki ngà àkonga o te reo ko tènei, ka taea te ao te kòrero mà te reo Màori anake kaua noa mà te reo Ingarihi.

‘Kei te mòhiotia ko te rumaki reo te ara tere ki te ako i te reo; nà runga i tènei mòhio i kitea he wàhi mò tètahi pukapuka taki kupu i roto i te reo Màori anake, à, he mea nui tènei kua puta a Tirohia, Kimihia.’

I kì a Hòne Apanui, te kaitohutohu Màori mò ngà Tohu Pukapuka a Montana, kua tae kè te wà mò tètahi pukapuka taki kupu pènei, kitea nei te aranga ake o te reo i roto i ngà tau tekau kua hipa.

I kì anò a Hone Apanui, ‘Ko Tirohia Kimihia te pukapuka taki kupu tuatahi kei te reo Màori anake, à, koia anò te tuatahi i tuhia mò ngà àkonga o te reo Màori.’

He rerekè a Tirohia Kimihia i te mea i kòwhiria ngà kupu i runga i te whakamahi i te wà o aua kupu. Tata ki te 3500 ngà kupu matua, à, kei kò atu i te 6000 ngà tikanga kua whakamàramatia. Whakatau ai te pukapuka taki kupu nei i ngà kupu whai take, nà reira ko te nuinga o ngà kupu matua he kupu mahi, he kupu ingoa, he kupu tohu momo.

Ko Montana me Creative New Zealand ngà kaitautoko matua o Ngà Tohu Pukapuka a Montana o Aotearoa. Nà Booksellers New Zealand i whakahaere ngà tohu nei, à, nà te Book Publishers Association me te New Zealand Society of Authors and Book tokens (NZ) Ltd i àwhina.

Ka pànuitia ngà kaiwhiwhi o ngà Tohu Pukapuka o Montana Aotearoa i te hàkari o te Mane te 30 o Hurae ki te Sky City Convention Centre. ENDS