'Afghans' and 'cheerios', 'kiwi' and 'iwi': the words we use. The beginnings of New Zealand English go back to the time when Captain Cook borrowed Maori words into English. In this lecture Elizabeth Gordon will discuss the processes whereby the English language was adapted to New Zealand conditions. She will consider the borrowing of Maori words into English in the period up to 1860 and the period after 1970 and discuss the question of Maori code-switching in English writing today. Some writers have suggested that New Zealand English will lose its distinctiveness in the face of globalisation. Will our New Zealand words survive?
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