Language
Getting to grips with language: 'The Allusionist'
The English language is full of weird and wonderful words and 'The Allusionist' (Radiotopia) delights in finding the stories behind them and discovering how we're using language today. We share some… Audio
Dr Natalie Schilling - Solving crimes through language
Many years ago, a 13-year-old girl went missing in California. In the early 2000s, a woman turned up claiming to be her. Right away there were things about the woman and her story seemed off. To help… Audio
South Taranaki mayoral candidate under fire for use of Naki branding
A South Taranaki mayoral candidate is under fire for naming his business South Naki after being advised that many Māori in the region find the abbreviation disrespectful. Audio
New Plymouth firms reluctant to drop the 'Naki'
A cloud-based computing business in New Plymouth is being applauded for changing its name from Naki Cloud to Our Cloud. Many Taranaki Māori find the abbreviation at best irritating and at worst… Audio
Learning te reo Māori with Stacey Morrison
Broadcaster and Māori language proponent Stacey Morrison talks through some of the nuts and bolts of speaking te reo. The grammar, the dialects, popular sayings, and some of the subtleties of the… Audio
'Synergy' and 'learnings': why jargon isn't so bad
A BBC piece argues that we need to be a bit more chill about corporate language. An internet linguist says we're angry at the symptom, rather than the cause. Audio
Food caravan serves up fish and chips, with a side of te reo
There's never been a food caravan quite like it - the owners of a fish and chip shop in Christchurch who offered free te reo Māori classes at their restaurant last year are taking their lessons on the…
Mosque shooter's manifesto 'objectionable' - Censor
Free speech advocates are calling the censor's decision to ban the Christchurch attacker's written document an "improper use of censorship powers". The publication has officially been classified as… Audio
Māori vocab list to help spread unity
A woman determined to spread messages of unity following the Christchurch attacks has compiled a list of te reo Māori translated into English for all New Zealanders to learn. Video
By Heart, Tiago Rodrigues. An ode to language
Written and performed by Portuguese playwright and actor Tiago Rodrigues, By Heart gets 10 audience volunteers to attempt the intellectual challenge of learning a poem, by heart, on stage. While the… Audio
Call for Rotumans to start teaching language in homes
It has been eight years since the Rotuman culture was listed as "vulnerable" by UNESCO. In an effort to save their mother tongue, the islanders living in New Zealand have launched Rotuman language… Audio
German love poetry
Yesterday on the show Jesse made some disparaging comments suggesting that the German language was perhaps not the most beautiful sounding language in the world. Naturally a few German speakers felt… Audio
Yay or nay: hyphenated surnames
Alex Liddington-Cox writes in Essential Baby that his child will be taking their mother's surname, because of the hell of a having a double-barrelled name. Audio
Spanish story finds NZ link
In this episode of Voices; we hear how a famous Spanish story got adapted for Kiwi audiences. Produced by Sara Vui-Talitu. Video, Audio
Plan to have 1 million people speaking te reo Māori by 2040
The government has pledged to ensure one million people in New Zealand are able to speak basic te reo Māori by 2040.
Fush 'n' chups and the Kiwi accent
The distinctive New Zealand accent and why young women lead the way in the evolution of a uniquely Kiwi way of talking. Audio
Our Changing World for 14 February 2019
The evolution of the Kiwi accent, and many more kakapo eggs and chicks. Audio
NZ's unique te reo tweets
Millions of tweets have been analysed to see how te reo Māori is being used on the social media platform.
Keeping indigenous languages alive
In this episode of Voices; we look at 2019 being the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Produced by Sara Vui-Talitu. Audio
Is it time to change New Zealand's name?
There's been an observation that both of our international cricket teams; the White Ferns and the Black Caps swapped "New Zealand" for "Aotearoa" on the front of their shirts for Waitangi Day. Audio
