Written Maori is an English invention. Early colonial English officials knew a written version of the language was needed for accurate communication and records and so created one. They liaised with knowledgeable Maori to ascertain all known Maori words for matter and phenomena and converted these to an English alphabet. They spelled these so that the English pronunciation of the letter combination would best produce the sound that Maori made.

When these scholars wrote 'Wh' as in Whangarei and Whakamarama it was because Maori pronounced these names as in 'Where' and 'Why', not as 'Fere' and 'fy' Had they pronounced them as an F the scholars would have written them as Fangarei and Fakamarama. The modern pronunciation of them as such is inauthentic.

When Maori gestured to our area and named it, the English wrote 'Tauranga'. They did not write "Too-ranga', 'Toe-ranga', Tow-ranga' or any other version that the people on radio and TV these days trip over themselves attempting to make as politically correct as possible.

When I was a child, Maori was pronounced 'Maa-ree'. After 150 years without apparent problem, 1980's academics told this was appallingly poor and the correct version was Maouw-ree'. A new crop of academics now say this is hopeless and we have to say 'Maaori'.

The breeding of Macrons all over the language is just the latest in this bogus pretentiousness. Educated English in the 18th century were familiar with European languages such as French that contained Macrons. Had these been needed to accurately convey the pronunciation they would have included them. The fact they didn't speaks volumes.

Mike Kuipers von Lande, Mount Maunganui