New Zealand English: Environment as a Vocabulary Area Term Paper

Abstract

New Zealand English is the officially acknowledged regional variety of the English language. Numerous scholars notice similarities and differences in the vocabulary areas of New Zealand and other varieties of English. In the environmental domain, the similarities to other varieties are minimal as far as the bulk of vocabulary units in the environmental domain of New Zealand English are either of Maori origin or denote the things unique to New Zealand.

Introduction

Research Aims

Language is what helps people communicate their ideas, express feelings and emotions, and reach some goals in various spheres of activity. Needless to say, different countries have different languages, and this is true even when historically some countries are integrally connected. One of the brightest examples is the English language and the differences it displays if its British variant is compared to other regional varieties, like American English, Australian English, or New Zealand English.

The latter is one of the most interesting research topics, because apart from British influence on language development, New Zealand English was, and still is, subject to other influences, like Maori culture, the closeness of Australia, and strong ties with the USA. Based on the above facts, the major aim of the current research is to study the peculiarities of New Zealand English vocabulary in the area of environment.

Literature Review

The topic of a language in general, and New Zealand English in particular, is a rather wide one. This means that apart from purely linguistic features of this topic, one should have a clear picture of the basic extra-linguistic factors, like the history of the nation that speaks a language, backgrounds of the language formation, and any other points of interest. Based on this need to study extra-linguistic factors for the better understanding of linguistic ones, several scholars, like for instance Bell and Kuiper (2000), Deverson (2000), and Kortmann (2004), have taken their time to consider New Zealand English in a variety of its aspects and peculiarities.

Thus, the first topic that almost all scholars address in their works regarding New Zealand English is the history of New Zealand or, to be more exact, the implications of the history upon the language formation. Bell and Kuiper (2000) and Hay et al. (2008) consider the history of New Zealand from the pre-historic times to understand how the Maori language, one of the most ancient languages spoken in this country, originated (Bell and Kuiper, 2000, p. 152; Hay et al., 2008, p. 65). Further on, these authors consider the British colonization of New Zealand as a milestone event in the integration of Maori and English languages and the formation of New Zealand English (Hay et al., 2008, p. 68).

Moreover, scholars like Hay et al. (2008) and Jackson (2000) take their time to examine the structure of New Zealand English in the areas of phonetics and phonology, morphology, vocabulary, and syntax. In respect of morphology and vocabulary, Jackson (2000) notices the close connection of New Zealand English with Australian English, although admitting the existence and fast development of exclusively New Zealand vocabulary units. Hay et al. (2008) support this point of view and dedicate a substantial part of their work to the consideration of similarities between New Zealand and Australian English (pp. 74 – 75).

Moreover, Kortmann (2004) pays much attention to the assimilation that took place between the Australian and New Zealand varieties of English and refers to this process as to the “melting pot” (p. 548), i. e. the environment where various cultures, languages, customs, and traditions are bound to merge and form a single product, i. e. New Zealand English in this case.

Interestingly, Deverson (2000) develops Jackson’s (2000) ideas and establishes the most famous classification of vocabulary units used in New Zealand English. Deverson (2000) speaks about “all English vocabulary used in New Zealand” and “distinctively New Zealand vocabulary (New Zealandisms)”, i. e. the words used exclusively in New Zealand and having the sense load only in this country and its society (Deverson, 2000, pp. 25 – 26).

At the same time, the research of the relevant literature on the topic of this paper does not allow discussing such a vocabulary area as the environment in any detail. Drawing from this, one can see that the topic of the environment as one of the areas of New Zealand English vocabulary has not been studied in detail by scholars, and this fact adds value and relevance to the topic of the current research paper. Needless to say, some pieces of evidence of the development of New Zealand English environmental vocabulary exist, and they allow providing the following background for the current study.

Environmental Vocabulary in New Zealand English: Background

The vocabulary of New Zealand English is rather diverse in its origins, word formation ways, and areas of use. However, even though such areas as politics, culture, daily life, etc. have always been widely represented in the New Zealand English, such a vocabulary area as environment have long been underrepresented in this variety of the English language (Kortmann, 2004, p. 782).

Kortmann (2004) even presents the hypothesis according to which the environmental issues of New Zealand and the extinction of numerous rare species of animals were the results of the lack of properly developed and generally understood (not only by members of one racial group or Maori tribe) means of communicating the environmental issues.

The support of this point can be found in the works by both Bell and Kuiper (2000, p. 31) and Hay et al. (2008, pp. 72 – 73), who argue that the bulk if not all, terms and notions that relate to the environment are of Maori origin and are thus not always comprehensible for some groups that constitute the New Zealand society.

At the same time, all English words that are indirectly related to the environment are mainly borrowed from Australian and American varieties of English and their use is different from the ways these words are used in British English (Hay et al., 2008, pp. 68 – 69). Drawing from the above-presented facts, the study of environmental vocabulary in New Zealand English becomes the research of either Maori terms or borrowings adopted and used in New Zealand.

Methodology

Data Sources’ and Citations’ Selection

Thus, given the considerable difficulty of the research topic, the methodology plays a crucial role in the proper selection of data and analysis of findings. Accordingly, the major principle found behind the selection of data sources for the current study is inclusion. In other words, it is essential to collect data from sources of different directions, genres, and means of communication including scholarly research works, advertisements in newspapers and online, fictions books, and journals.

Identification of Distinctive Senses

Another issue for the study of New Zealand English vocabulary is the identification of distinctive senses, i. e. the vocabulary units used exclusively in New Zealand according to Deverson (2000, p. 27). The process of distinctive senses’ identification is, thus, carried out based on Deverson’s classification and the dictionary data about every particular vocabulary unit selected for the research.

Heteronyms’/Synonyms’ Sources

The sources of heteronyms or synonyms for the vocabulary units selected will be the reference books cited further in the Reference List for the current paper. These sources provide a wide variety of examples of New Zealand English vocabulary according to their different morphology types, origin, and belonging to the classes of distinctive New Zealand words or distinctive senses.

Deverson’s Typology

The latter classes are distinguished by the above mentioned Deverson’s typology of New Zealand English vocabulary units and can be illustrated by Figure 1 (Deverson, 2000, p. 25):

• A = distinctive senses, i. e. all English vocabulary units used in New Zealand similar to other regions;
• B = distinctive New Zealand vocabulary units, or New Zealandisms.

Research Issues

Needless to say, the conduct of the current research faces obstacles and challenges. The two major difficult tasks for this research include the selection of relevant vocabulary units from the domain of environment and finding heteronyms or synonyms for the distinctive New Zealand vocabulary units that often have Maori origin and few or now correspondences in other varieties of English.

Results

The results of the current research are presented in Tables 1 and 2, with the former displaying the word formation types and heteronyms/synonyms (where possible) for the selected vocabulary units, and the latter categorizing these units according to Deverson’s typology:

Table 1. New Zealand environmental vocabulary.

Thus, Table 1 reveals that vocabulary units or Maori origin have no synonyms or heteronyms in other varieties of English. Neither do the units reflecting the specifically New Zealand things and, in this case, representatives of the unique New Zealand fauna.

Table 2. Deverson’s typology.

Table 2 reveals that among the ten selected vocabulary units there are six distinctive senses and four distinctive New Zealand words. The former group includes US borrowing in the New Zealand English as well as the words, the meaning of which has shifted in NZ English as compared to other varieties. The distinctive New Zealand words among the selected ones include only the Maori borrowings that refer to the names of flora and fauna in the country. Using the Deverson’s typology, the proportion of distinctive senses and distinctive New Zealand words can be illustrated by Figure 2:

Discussion

The implications of the above research findings are quite interesting in the context of the above-stated aims and topic of the current work. In general terms, they can be subdivided into the distinct five groups for further discussion, including:

1. New Zealand vocabulary in the environmental domain contains numerous loans from American English;
2. New Zealand vocabulary in the environmental domain displays numbers of loans from the Maori language;
3. Meaning shift is one of the basic ways of word formation in New Zealand English, especially regarding the vocabulary in the environmental domain;
4. Compounding is also often used for word formation in New Zealand English;
5. There are vocabulary units in the environmental domain of New Zealand English that denote purely New Zealand phenomena but are parts of all English vocabulary.

In more detail, the closeness of US and NZ English varieties has been noticed by scholars like Bell and Kuiper (2000) and Hay et al. (2008), who argued that numbers of modern vocabulary units relating to daily life and environment are borrowed from the US English. The examples of muffler and stove prove this point by constituting 20% of the 10-unit sample selected for the research.

At the same time, the proportion of Maori loans is even larger (40%) and this fact also proves the scholarly argument that Maori words constitute a bulk of the New Zealand vocabulary in the environmental domain. The interesting point about the Maori loans is that they have no synonyms or heteronyms in other English varieties and constitute the group that can be referred to as distinctively New Zealand words or New Zealandisms.

A peculiar group of the New Zealand vocabulary in the environmental domain is constituted by the words that have gone through the meaning shift process and, although being the parts of all English vocabulary, are used in such meanings only in New Zealand English. The examples are the words paddock, creek, and chooks, whose equivalents in, for instance, British English are meadow, stream, and chicken respectively.

Interestingly, paddock is referred to as the place where cattle are held, while creek is traditionally understood as a sea harbor, and only in New Zealand English, it names the stream. Thus, the meaning shift group of vocabulary units presents a specific interest for researchers because it consists of all English words, but displays it’s distinctively New Zealand belonging through the meanings it renders.

Compounding is another widely used way of word formation in New Zealand English, as well as in any other regional variations of this language, and this fact is reflected in the presence of a compound word among the 10-word sample selected for the current research.

Finally, another group of special interest for researchers consists of all English vocabulary units that denote exclusively New Zealand environmental notions. Examples of such units are fan-tail, cabbage tree, tea tree, white heron, etc. These units, if referred to by their Maori names constitute the distinctive New Zealand words’ group, while in the case of English names used they can be placed between distinctive senses and New Zealandisms as units that can be assigned to either of the groups.

Conclusions

So, the conclusion of the whole above presented discussion is that New Zealand English is one of the varieties of English that displays its peculiarities and unique features. The unique geographical location, natural riches, flora, and fauna of New Zealand condition the fact that the major part of the environmental domain of NZ English vocabulary has no equivalents in other regional varieties of English or is used only after the meaning shift in New Zealand.

Appendix

Muffler – silencer (Br)

• The capacity of a Genuine Toyota Muffler is appropriate for each model (Toyota New Zealand, 2010);
• It was only through this experience in Australia that I truly appreciated the backfire from mufflers (Torque, 2007, p. 56);
• Clamp’s around muffler for ease of installation, so no more nasty / ugly welds on to your new muffler (Dytech Racing, 2010);

Stove – cooker (Br)

• The heat from the stove was removed from the room as soon as it was generated (New Zealand Engineering, 1952, p. 434);
• A stove had to be completed quickly and needed to meet a number of requirements (Journal of ferrocement, 1981, p. 169);
• His experiments with heating stoves in the 1860s led to the reshaping of his foundry business from the roller grain drill to the heating stove (South Western Michigan College, 2010);

Paddock – meadow (Br)

• AgResearch scientists tracked lamb from paddock to plate, measuring the gases produced by the sheep, cooking, refrigeration and transport (NZ Herald, 2010);
• Not in Our Back Paddock! (Heeringa, S., 2010);
• Getting our produce from the New Zealand paddock to the European plate (Lincoln University, 2006)

Creek – stream (Br)

• It joins the Blue Duck-West Creek Faults near Captain Creek (New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1958, p. 205);
• The duel on the creek (Hargreaves, 1995, p. 1);
• Butterfly Creek has become well known for the fantastic activities it offers for kids (Guide to Auckland, 2010);

Chooks – chickens (Br)

• The word “chooks” is used throughout New Zealand to describe this poultry species, and is accordingly used on this website (Rarebreeds, 2010);
• This house can house up to 18 chooks if they free range on a daily basis (Chickens by Design, 2010);
• Chooks are dirtier than hens (Modjeska, 2006, p. 18);

Fan-tail (also a fantail, a New Zealand bird) – no

• He has been seen to attack and devour a fully adult Fan-tail (Royal Society of New Zealand, 1904, p. 126);
• The fantail is about the size of a house sparrow (Beta Essortment, 2010);
• Mr. Caley speaks of this species under the name Fan-tail (Knight, 1860, p. 981);

Ti kouka (Cabbage tree) – no

• Ti kouka usually grows to 12 – 20 meters (Salmon, 1986, p. 384);
• The cabbage tree/tī kōuka is common throughout farmland, open places, wetlands and scrubland of the North and South Islands, but are rare on Stewart Island (DOC, 2010);
• The tī kōuka grows beneath the forest canopy, usually in moist areas and often along the edges of farmland (Harper, 2002, p. 996);

Manuka (tea tree) – no

• It is the starting point for rating UMF Manuka honey (HNZ, 2010);
• A similar mealy bug described from this genus in Australia has recently been recorded on manuka in New Zealand (New Zealand Weed and Pest Control Society, 1953, p. 40);
• Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is the most abundant of New Zealand shrubs (Taylor, 1959, p. 371);

Pukeko – swamp hen

• The Pukeko, or New Zealand Swamp Hen is a member of the rail family, and is similar to other species found all over the world (Pukeko WS, 2010);
• Whether or not tradition be true, the Pukeko, like many other species now resident in New Zealand, almost certainly arrived here from Australia (Notornis, 1968, p. 101);
• The Pukeko is one of New Zealand’s most recognised birds to locals and tourists alike (Birdrescue, 2010);

Kotuku – white heron

• White Heron Sanctuary Tours offer New Zealand bird tours visiting New Zealand’s only White Heron (Kotuku) nesting colony (New Zealand Tourism Guide, 2010);
• New Zealand White Heron – Kotuku. This species was almost exterminated to satisfy the demand for feathers for women’s hats (NHC, 2010);
• The name Kotuku comes from a New Zealand white heron. The bird is so scarce that the Maoris use the word to describe special and rarely seen friends (Kotuku, 2010).

References

Bell, A. and Kuiper, K. (2000). New Zealand English. Victoria University Press.

Deverson, T. (2000). Handling New Zealand English Lexis. In A. Bell and K. Kuiper (Eds.), New Zealand English (pp. 23 – 38). Victoria University Press.

Hay, J. et al. (2008). New Zealand English. Edinburgh University Press.

Jackson, H. (2000). Words, meaning and vocabulary: an introduction to modern English lexicology. Continuum International Publishing Group.

Kortmann, B. (2004). A handbook of varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool. Morphology and syntax. Walter de Gruyter.