- Moriori language
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Moriori Spoken in New Zealand Region Polynesia Native speakers unknown (date missing) Language family Writing system Latin Language codes ISO 639-3 mri Moriori is an extinct[1] Malayo-Polynesian language most closely related to New Zealand Māori. It is the native language of the Moriori, the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu in Moriori), which are east of New Zealand and under its sovereignty.
The invasion from Taranaki had a heavy impact on Moriori population, culture and language, with only 101 Moriori remaining in 1862,[2] and few speaking the language by the 1870s.[3] However, Samuel Deighton, Resident Magistrate on the Chathams from 1873 to 1891, compiled a short vocabulary of Moriori words, with their equivalents in Māori and English. The vocabulary was published as an appendix of Michael King's Moriori: A People Rediscovered.
The language was reconstructed for Barry Barclay's 2000 film documentary The Feathers of Peace,[4] in a recreation of Moriori contact with Pākehā and Māori.
In 2001, as part of a cultural revival movement, Moriori people began attempts to revive the language, and compiled a database of Moriori words.[5]
The 2006 New Zealand Census showed 945 people choosing to include "Moriori" amongst their tribal affiliations, compared to 35 people in the 1901 census.[6]
References
- ^ "Maori: A language of New Zealand". 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mri. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ Denise Davis & Māui Solomon (28-Oct-2008). "Moriori: The impact of new arrivals". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/Moriori/4/en. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ King, Michael (1989). Moriori: A People Rediscovered. Auckland: Viking. p. 136.
- ^ "The Feathers of Peace (2000)" IMDb.
- ^ Denise Davis & Māui Solomon (28-Oct-2008). "Moriori: The second dawn". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/Moriori/5/en. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ Denise Davis & Māui Solomon (28-Oct-2008). "Moriori: Facts and figures". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/Moriori/6/en. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
Further reading
- Galbraith, Sarah. A Grammar of the Moriori language.
- Clark, R. (1994). "Moriori and Maori: The Linguistic Evidence". In Sutton, D. (ed) The origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press. pp. 123–135.
Categories:- Language articles with undated speaker data
- Moriori
- Extinct languages of Oceania
- Languages of New Zealand
- Polynesian languages
- Tahitic languages
- Endangered Austronesian languages
- Language articles without language code
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