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Home / New Zealand

Toby Manhire: An introduction to NZ language for visitors

Toby Manhire
By Toby Manhire
Herald online·
19 Jan, 2016 10:04 PMQuick Read

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Can you talk like a New Zealander, bro? The Beach Az Bro video brought the Kiwi accent to a whole new audience.

Can you talk like a New Zealander, bro? The Beach Az Bro video brought the Kiwi accent to a whole new audience.

Toby Manhire
Opinion by Toby ManhireLearn more

It is the middle of January and the holiday hotspots of New Zealand are teeming with visitors from abroad. If you believe everything you read it's not just tourists, but high-level American security staff scouring the streets ahead of a visit by Barack Obama, muttering into their wrists as they strive to identify the nation's most POTUS-worthy lamingtons.

To any and all of the above, welcome. And a warning: you may find us a little tricky to understand at times. There's the accent, for starters. It's heavily influenced by our former colonial masters and often indistinguishable from the Australians, so we'll soon be voting for a new one in a referendum.

But there are also plenty of phrases, idiom and slang that can be difficult to decipher. Here's a selection of NZ terms in popular contemporary usage, helpfully explained.

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