Lee Smith says a number of Kahungunu words have fallen out of existence.
Lee Smith says a number of Kahungunu words have fallen out of existence.
The Ngati Kahungunu mita (dialect) is now a thing of the past, says linguist Lee Smith. Smith is from Ngati Kahungunu and has dedicated 30 years to studying Maori language in all its forms, including dialects from around the country.
"The Kahungunu dialect has disappeared; dialect is veryoral, not written, it's all about the sounds," explains Smith.
An iwi's mita is what makes the tribe special and unique. It is an instant identifier "when you hear their mita, you know straight away where they're from".
Smith is a linguist who has contributed to Maori language revitalisation across many sectors, from broadcasting to education and beyond.
He is passionate about languages and is fluent in four - French, Russian, English and Maori.
The passion for languages has led him to study and analyse 10 languages from the Pacific and New Caledonia.
"Kahungunu words that were distinctive and exclusive to Kahungunu no longer exist." His research tells him language changes and is generational, but due to urbanisation in the 1950s and 60s in Kahungunu, the dialect become non-specific.
This means words that were once unique to Ngati Kahungunu are now no longer exclusive because other people from different parts of the country are using them too.
Other factors to bring about such change have been inter-marriages between tribes from out of the region that resulted in dialects and language variations merging over time.
Language is living and it is always evolving, Smith says.
"The language characteristics that the kaumatua [elders] still hold on to are not being used the the rangatahi [young people] today."
Instead, he says people are using books more often to learn languages instead of the spoken word. By using books and concentrating on spelling and the written word rather than how it sounds has contributed to the loss of mita.
To get the Ngati Kahungunu mita back will be a difficult task that will take dedicated people and require extensive research of dialects throughout the country.
After that, the challenge will be to hold on to those unique words and consonant variations and ensure they are passed down orally to the next generation.
