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Lost in translation or lack of nuance? Perception of (near-)synonymy of common te reo Māori loanwords in New Zealand English
(Australian Linguistic Society, 2024) Pohl, Alexander; Calude, Andreea S.; Zenner, Eline; Rosseel, Laura; Whaanga, Hēmi
Ongoing contact between languages and their speakers inevitably leads to a flow of words being borrowed from one language into another. Research in the field of language contact has established and documented the kinds of borrowed words that stick in their recipient language (Haspelmath 2009; Winford 2010). However, one question that has received comparatively less attention is how a newly adopted loanword relates to the structure of the existing lexicon it enters. In recent years, language contact research has thus seen a paradigm shift towards an onomasiological perspective (see Anderson et al. 2017; Crombez et al. 2022; Zenner et al. 2023). Within this approach, most studies looking at lexical variation between loanwords and their (near-)synonyms employ corpus linguistics methods (e.g. Onysko & Winter-Froemel 2011; Soares da Silva 2013). However, there is variation in how these corpus studies have investigated loanword meanings, and, to our knowledge, there has been almost no experimental research focussed specifically on the relationship between loanwords and their (near-)synonyms to date. This project presents a large-scale experimental approach from a case-study examining Māori loanwords borrowed into New Zealand English (NZE). NZE presents an unusual language contact situation because it involves a dominant language (NZE) receiving an exceptionally high amount of lexical material (words and phrases) from an Indigenous language: Māori. Further adding to the uniqueness of this contact situation is the fact that only a fraction of the population (<10%) speaks Māori fluently (Statistics New Zealand 2019). Nonetheless, Māori loanwords are ubiquitous, salient, and probably still increasing within the NZE lexicon (Macalister 2007; Trye et al. 2019). One important dimension of this set of borrowings are their semantic characteristics, which straddle three main classes of words: flora and fauna (mānuka ‘tea tree’), material culture (maunga ‘mountain’) and social culture (mana ‘power’). Here, we report on a Qualtrics experiment devised to probe the perceived relationship between 60 Māori loanwords and their NZE equivalents, as ascertained from published sources. The synonymy judgements were elicited for pairs (e.g. whānau – family) using an analogue slider (ranging from 0 = non-synonymous to 100 = fully synonymous). Data was collected using a three-tiered questionnaire: 1) assessing synonymy of loanwords; 2) eliciting strategies for semantic assessments; and 3) collating background information about participants. Following cleaning and exclusions, the dataset showed a skew towards female participants, and for this reason, we focus our statistical analysis on the core sample containing (n = 170) young women (18-24 years). The results of the synonymy judgements analysis consist of qualitative inspections of box plots in relation to the semantic characteristics of Māori words in question, as well as sociodemographic variables of interest, specifically: years lived in Aotearoa NZ, and a composite score capturing exposure to and attitude towards Māori (TRMO). Preliminary findings suggest that many people think Māori loanwords are (highly) synonymous with NZE lexical alternatives. Our regression analyses exhibit evidence that years lived in Aotearoa NZ (p = 0.0054) and TRMO (p = 8.26e-10) can predict knowledge of Māori words. No statistically significant evidence was found for any predictors regarding the scores of the synonymy judgements; instead, we found that the random effects account for most of the variation. This is indicative of idiosyncratic loanword behaviour, in line with situations where variation is in-flux. These findings will be complemented by qualitative analyses of comments provided by participants in the open answer section (2). The talk will conclude with a summary of contributions to the general understanding of loanword meanings and contact-induced lexical change.
Mainstreaming managed retreat in Aotearoa New Zealand [Policy Brief]
(Resilience to Nature's Challenges, 2023-04) Hanna, Christina Jane; White, Iain; Cretney, Raven
Retreat in Aotearoa has evolved from early indigenous practices which saw relocation from harm as a viable option, to the onset of colonisation and more protection-based approaches, to more passive policy that acknowledged the option of retreat but provided little guidance or implementation support, to today, when retreat is becoming a strategic part of our national risk management framework.
Evaluation of STOP Children’s Service 2020-2021: Parents/caregivers and teachers’ perspectives on the effectiveness of the STOP Children’s Service
(Wilf Malcom Institute of Educational Research, The University of Waikato, 2023) Flanagan, Paul G.
This project explored the effectiveness of STOP’s Children’s Service through interviews with parents/caregivers and principals/teachers of child clients who accessed the Service during 2020-2021. This time frame included experience of the effects of Covid-19, providing the possibility of learning areas for improvement of the service to families in remote rural areas where access to in-person clinical services are limited.
Time's scales: Working with time at Roonka
(2023) Littleton, Judith; Allen, Harry; Emmitt, Joshua; Karstens, Sarah; Petchey, Fiona; Walshe, Keryn
The site of Roonka, subject of long-term excavation by Graeme Pretty and volunteers under the aegis of the South Australian Museum, is still the most extensive excavation of a Holocene burial ground in Australia. The Roonka project between the University of Auckland and the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation began in 2014 with the aim of re-analysing the mortuary customs and human remains through the lens of time prior to repatriation. Rather than assuming a single site function e.g. a cemetery or a history which can be divided into two phases (e.g. pre- and post-ENSO), we aim to trace changes in human health and behaviour over the Holocene as people adapted or accommodated changing conditions – the cycle of change and resilience. This means thinking through the nature of the record and the periods of time within it – the event of death, precise memories of other events, the life history of an individual, discontinuous records of site formation, long term continuities of cultural change and differential preservation. In this paper we go back to that original set of ideas and consider how the work and conversations we have had with each other have added more elements of time and different conceptions of what matters. We now have a much clearer model of site formation, taphonomic processes, long term cultural practices and short term catastrophes of individual lives. But what has been added to our sense of time? Ideas of time here in Australia versus time elsewhere, legacy archaeology, the rapidity of time’s change post 1830, COVID time, lived time, research project time… In this paper, we analyse how these different aspects of time interact or remain separate, are useful in different circumstances and provide new interpretations of Roonka and its people.
Spiritual beliefs, practices, and shadows of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in Fiji
(The University of Waikato, 2026-01) Berndorff, Valentýna; Dr Isaacs, Bronwyn; Dr Pratt, Douglas
This doctoral thesis examines the self-perceptions and lived experiences of Fijian Ahmadis - members of a transnational religious minority who self-identify as Muslims under the spiritual leadership of the Khalifa based in London, UK. The global Ahmadiyya Jama’at positions its adherents as divinely appointed bearers of the truest form of Islam, uniquely entrusted with leading others “from darkness to light”. At its core, this thesis poses a central question: how do Fijian Ahmadis pursue and sustain their religious identity and practices in a remote Pacific context, within a pluralistic yet predominantly Christian society? Drawing on six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji, complemented by additional research among Ahmadis in New Zealand, this study explores how Fijian Ahmadis conform to doctrinal orthodoxy, navigate communal authority, articulate theological claims and interact both internally and with other Fijians. In this thesis, I critically examine the tensions Fijian Ahmadis face in balancing their local religious life with the global aspirations of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at - addressing certain contradictions while allowing others to remain obscured in the shadows of rigorous daily practice. A strong sense of communal exclusivity is shown to be sustained through the movement’s bureaucratic apparatus, which promotes submission to its centralised hierarchy, religious discipline, and personal sacrifice. I contend that by prioritising religious identity and communal purity, this framework reorients Fijian Ahmadis away from their immediate social environment towards alignment with the global Ahmadiyya Jama’at, thereby limiting their deeper engagement with broader Fijian society. Further, this thesis addresses gendered expressions of religiosity and modesty, illustrating how the practice of purdah among Fijian Ahmadis both embodies and reinforces traditional gender roles. Finally, while the community publicly promotes values of tolerance and humanism, these ideals often remain bounded by religious and moral distinctiveness. The tension between rhetorical inclusivity and lived exclusivity becomes especially evident in the Ahmadiyya leadership’s controversial response to the ongoing conflict and genocide in Gaza.