Editorial: Name change doesn't roll easily off tongue
5:30 AM Saturday Aug 25, 2012
The sun rises over Rangitoto Island as a runner heads through the shallow water at low tide on Cheltenham Beach. Photo / Sarah Ivey
If Maori names are being used, they should, as a matter of respect, be used properly in official communication. Therefore, Mayor Len Brown has rightly welcomed the pending change of the name of Auckland's best-known landmark to Te Rangi-i-Tongia-a-Tamatekapua.
As a consequence of the Crown's deal with 12 iwi and hapu to restore Maori ownership of volcanic cones and some Hauraki Gulf islands, Rangitoto will, for official occasions at least, become obsolete.
The name change has yet to be confirmed by the NZ Geographic Board, but that should be a formality.
Rangitoto was derived from the proposed name, which means "the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed" in recognition of the wounding of the captain of the Arawa waka during a fight with the Tainui iwi. Likewise, Motutapu will become known as Te Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau.
New Zealanders' preparedness in recent years to acknowledge and use Maori place names has been refreshing. But, as Mr Brown acknowledges, Te Rangi-i-Tongia-a-Tamatekapua will not transfer so readily or easily into common use.
If Aucklanders continue to refer to Rangitoto that does not necessarily detract from this official recognition - just as Hawkes Bay locals refer to Taumatatawhakatatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu as Taumata.
Nevermind the fact that the other 99% of words that have come out of their mouth are mispronounced (e.g. The Kiwi habit of saying "woman" when they mean "women", "pin" instead of "pen", "kiddle" instead of "kettle", etc), so long as we get the Maori ones right!
Not only that, but Kiwis are always calling the UK or Great Britain, "England", and don't seem to care too much about that.
The problem is in the first sentence of this editorial. "If Maori names are being used, they should, as a matter of respect, be used properly in official communication". Surely the word "Maori" is redundant here. Any and all names, as a matter of respect, should be used properly, whether they are Maori or otherwise.