Ngä Ingoa o Aotearoa
An oral dictionary of Mäori placenames
Ngä Ingoa o Aotearoa (The Names of New Zealand) is probably the first "pronouncing dictionary" that is literally "pronouncing". On six cassettes, the 10,200 names are spoken by 132 native speakers of Maori, chosen by each other as the best speakers for their areas.
They include such famous names as John Rangihau, Wiremu Parker, Bill Kere Kere, Ruka Broughton, Eruera Manuera, Tupi Puriri, Magda Wallscott, Island Love, and Matenga Baker. Mainly elders, more than 50 of the speakers have since died. Because they say only names in their own areas, local accents are automatically accommodated.
The list includes geographic features down to the larger hills and streams, all human settlements, suburbs and schools, marae, meeting houses and dining halls and many other features. The South Island volume includes the original Maori names of many features now known by English ones.
The names are sorted into 177 clearly defined "Zones", and are in alphabetical order within each Zone, so that any name can be found quickly. Booklets with each pair of cassettes index the names alphabetically and by Zone, and a map of the Zones is enclosed with each cassette. The dictionary is intended especially for broadcasters and those who have to speak in public, but everyone who wants to pronounce placenames as Maori words will find it valuable.
I took ten years of my spare time recording and editing the dictionary, after securing the approval of trust boards and tribal authorities throughout the country. I made two tours of the lower North Island in 1984 to record Part 1, untold forays into the north in 1986-90 to record Part 2, and two journeys the length of the South Island in 1992 and 1993 to record Part 3.
The dictionary does not give the names' meanings. That would take more than a lifetime, and would be done better by Mäori in each area, since meanings involve mana and tapu to a much greater extent.
Click here to hear some of the names (the sound quality on the tapes is higher) :
| Name | kind of place | file size | Speaker (+ deceased) |
| Ngä Ingoa ö Aotearoa | 116KB | + Wiremu Parker | |
| Aotearoa | North Island | 48KB | + Wiremu Parker |
From Part 1 Te Upoko ö te Ika
 | |||
| Hikurangi | mountain | 61KB | Api Mahuika |
| Kahungunu | (iwi) marae, locality | 76KB | + Lena Manuel |
| Ngauruhoe | mountain | 49KB | Rangi Downs |
| Paekäkäriki | town | 131KB | + Te Aputa Parata-Kauri |
| Paraparaumu | town | 141KB | + Te Aputa Parata-Kauri |
| Ruapehu | mountain | 72KB | + Pauro Mareikura |
| Ruatähuna | locality | 123KB | + John Rangihau |
| Ruätoki | locality | 102KB | + John Rangihau |
| Täkitimu | (waka) marae, meeting house | 87KB | + Lena Manuel |
| Taranaki | mountain | 87KB | Tom Ngatai |
From Part 2 Te Hiku ö te Ika
 | |||
| Kirikiriroa | (Hamilton) city | 99KB | + Rangiwhakaewa Skinner |
| Mängere | Mountain, inlet, ward, marae | 81KB | Rangi Motu |
| Maungakiekie | One Tree Hill, golf club | 139KB | Naida Rangimarie Pou |
| Ngäraratunua | locality | 87KB | the Rev. Hare Kake |
| Ngäruawähia | town | 118KB | + Kamira Henry ("Binga") Haggie |
| Ngunguru | bay, locality | 52KB | the Rev. Hare Kake |
| Te Rëinga | sacred site | 52KB | Pineaha Murray |
| Waikato | river, region | 68KB | Pukerau Rangitutea |
| Waitematä | harbour | 82KB | Naida Rangimarie Pou |
| Whakarewarewa (Te Whakarewarewatanga o te Ope Taua ä Wähiao) | village | 178KB (340KB) | + Autiti ("Beaker") Wikiriwhi |
| Whängärei | city | 80KB | the Rev. Hare Kake |
From Part 3 Te Waipounamu
 | |||
| Aoraki | mountain | 33KB | Maika Mason |
| Tapuae ö Uenuku | mountain | 85KB | Bill Solomon |
| Te Moana Nui ä Kiwa | Pacific Ocean | 74KB | + Auntie Jane Manahi |
| Te Moana o Raukawa | Cook Strait | 93KB | + Tom Bailey |
| Te Wai Pounamu | South Island | 59KB | + Auntie Jane Manahi |
| Te Waka ä Mäui | South Island | 46KB | + Tom Bailey |
| Te Waka o Aoraki | South Island | 72KB | + Auntie Jane Manahi |
| Waimakariri | river | 49KB | + Auntie Jane Manahi |
| Waitaki | river | 30KB | + Aunt Magda Walscott |
| Wanaka | lake | 25KB | + Aunt Magda Walscott |
| Names in this small sample are chosen for their significance, or because they are often mispronounced. | |||
It is obtainable from Replay Radio, Freepost 4000, PO Box 123 Wellington (Freephone 0800 REPLAY (0800 737529) fax no +64 4 474 1761). or from
| Aoraki Press P O Box 11-699 Wellington. |
Corrected catalogue entry:
| NGA INGOA O AOTEAROA An oral dictionary of 10,000 Maori place name pronunciations, spoken by 132 local pu-korero, compiled by Hugh Young. Part One: Te Upoko o te Ika (The Head of Maui's Fish), the southern half of the North Island, including the East Coast and Taranaki. CAS 503 two cassettes and guidebook $38.00 Part Two: Te Hiku o te Ika (The Tail of Maui's Fish), the northern half of the North Island. CAS9101 two cassettes and guidebook $38.00 Part Three: Te Waipounamu (The South Island, Stewart Island and the Chathams). CAS9406 two cassettes and guidebook $38.00 The complete set. 6 tapes and 3 guidebooks. CAS503, 9101 & 9406 $99.00 |
In detail:
Six cassettes, three booklets, 177 Zones, 10,200 names, 132 speakers (21 women).
Part 1: Te Upoko o te Ika (Wellington, Manawatu, Rangitikei, Taupo, Whanganui, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, East Coast, Urewera); 59 Zones, 4500 names, 50 speakers (4 women), two 90 minute cassettes, recorded October - November 1984. 4000 km approx. travelled, launched May 1985.
Part 2: Te Hiku o te Ika (Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Hauraki, King Country, Waikato, Auckland, Northland, Overseas); 80 Zones, 3500 names, 59 speakers (12 women), two 70 minute cassettes, recorded 1986-90 14,000 km approx. travelled, launched April 1991.
Part 3: Te Wai Pounamu (Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, Southern Lakes, Southland, Southern Islands, Fiordland, West Coast, Chatham Islands); 38 Zones, 2200 names, 23 speakers (5 women), two cassettes (45 minutes and 55 minutes), recorded November 1992 - April 1993, 5000 km approx. travelled, launched November 1994.
Total distance travelled: 23,000 km approx - equivalent to driving to New York via London.
Total cassette duration: 6 hours 30 minutes - longer than Götterdämmerung!
Commonest name: Te Aroha [meaning "love, compassion"] (13 separate occurrences).
Placename pronunciation is the one aspect of Maoritanga that every Pakeha has to deal with. That's why I as a Pakeha could legitimately involve myself in it. Without pressuring anyone, I'd like to see a Maori pronunciation of the names become standard, as a way of supporting the language, this country's oldest human artifact and one of its endangered species.
Part 1 was financed by a Bill Toft Memorial grant and Part 3 by the Lottery Board's Heritage fund and the Pacific Conservation and Development Trust (the Rainbow Warrior compensation), but I paid for Part 2 out of my own pocket.
I am investigating the possibility of putting the whole dictionary on the web, but don't hold your breath - get the cassettes!
Copyright © Hugh Young 1985, 1991 and 1994. The booklet and recordings may not be resold for profit. They may be copied for educational purposes. Copies should be clearly identified as such.
If you want to link to this page, feel free to copy this logo:
For further information contact Hugh Young, ph/fax +64 4 239-9341 or email me.
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