Key themes of research in New Zealand English

Find out about the topics our researchers explore in New Zealand English, hear spoken examples of this dialect, and find other resources on this topic.

Key themes of research in New Zealand English

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Sound files of NZ English

Think you know what New Zealand English sounds like? Here are some examples of the sounds of New Zealand English:

There are also some examples online of people trying to do a New Zealand accent, sometimes quite convincingly!

An American in New Zealand masquerading as a Kiwi (or is he?):

An actress attempting 21 accents in two and a half minutes:

Here, however, is a clip of the real thing:

A New Zealander giving her take on the origins of the New Zealand accent:

Sometimes the New Zealand accent even makes the news in New Zealand:

Lectures on NZ English

In 2005, sociolinguist Elizabeth Gordon gave a series of public lectures on New Zealand English. You can listen to these lectures online through Radio New Zealand:

Why do we speak the way we do? The development of the New Zealand accent;

'Afghans' and 'cheerios', 'kiwi' and 'iwi': the words we use; and

'A whirlpool of impure vocalisation': attitudes to New Zealand English.

Radio New Zealand also has a collection of further resources on the NZ accent at this site.

In September 2008, Elizabeth Gordon gave a further three public lectures on New Zealand English at Victoria University of Wellington, as part of the annual Ian Gordon lecture series:

I'll write a letter to the paper: the lay person's view of New Zealand English;

New Zealand English past and present: looking for the evidence;

The New Zealand accent: a clue to New Zealand identity?

In August 2017, Professor Paul Warren gave his inaugural public lecture on the changing aspects of NZ English pronunciation: The Dynamism of Language

In August 2018, Professor John Macalister gave his inaugural public lecture examining the relationship between English and te reo Maori: Ladies at Home: Language and Culture in Edwardian Wellington

In March 2020, Professor Meredith Marra gave her inaugural public lecture on effective communication in New Zealand workplaces: Turning power into empowerment

NZ English in the media

Several New Zealand linguists publish columns on New Zealand English in the press. These include the Watch Your Language column in the Dominion Post, which ran from 2007 to 2012, and the Language Matters column in the same newspaper that started in 2020. An archive of these columns is here.