A
Kiwi
is
not just a fruit, or a flightless bird. It is the name adopted by
New Zealanders as a nickname for themselves and an adjective for their
culture. The word Kiwi originates from the Maori word for
several species of a flightless bird endemic to New Zealand.
Non New Zealanders sometimes use the word Kiwi to refer to the
green fruit with the fuzzy skin, also known as the Chinese Gooseberry,
which is the name the indigenous population use themselves for this delicacy.
When referring to the bird kiwi is spelt with a small 'k'; when
a capital 'K' is used it refers to the people.
New Zealand
is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean consisting of two large
islands-the North Island and South Island and many much smaller islands.
It is called
Aotearoa
in the Maori language which translates into
Land of the Long White Cloud.
The population is mostly of European descent, with Maori being the largest
minority. Non-Maori Polynesian and Asian peoples are also significant
minorities, especially in the cities. Elizabeth II (of Great Britain)
as the Queen of New Zealand,
is the Head of State and is represented, in her absence, by a non-partisan
Governor-General; the Queen 'reigns but does not rule' - political power
is held by the Prime Minister, who is the Head of Government in a democratically-elected
Parliament.
Kiwi (bird)
logos are often associated with New Zealand military forces and New Zealand
goods. The association probably originated during WWI when the ANZACS of
Australia and New Zealand introduced Kiwi shoe polish to the allied trenches
- this was widely used by British and American armies at that time.
The
New Zealand dollar is often called the Kiwi dollar (or just the Kiwi) and
the bird's image appears on the one dollar coin.
English
is the official (and most widely spoken) language de facto.
Maori and Sign Language (New Zealand is the first country in the world
to adopt sign as an official language) are official de jure (legal)
languages.
But the
English speaking population have a few little "Kiwisms' of their own.
No matter
where in the world you are from, when you spend time in this sub-tropical,
colourful, friendly, multi-cultural country, you will blend in comfortably
and fully enjoy your time there if you are aware of “kiwisms”
which are not obvious to outsiders.
My husband,
daughter and I moved to Auckland, New Zealand four years ago from the U.S.
and have (and still do) come across interesting experiences with
the language.
Soon after
landing in the country, we were given a book of common Kiwi words because
we were planning on staying at least a year or two.
That book
enlightened us - we learned that besides some unique words, the New Zealanders
have a speech style all of their own. I remember many situations
when first arriving that left us with raised eyebrows and a mental questioning
of 'what?'. One chilly day we were asked if we had a jumper. 'A
what?'- a jumper is a person who jumps, isn’t it? Well, not in New Zealand
where it is the word for 'sweater'. Then there was the statement, “the
book is in my boot” which left the same response. Isn’t a boot
a strange place to put a book? 'Boot' being 'trunk' in our world.
My husband
was told one day that one of his co-workers wasn’t at work because he had
enjoyed too much piss over the weekend. When he asked what that
meant he was met with much laughter and was told the guy had drunk too
much beer and had a hangover. My daughter was asked at school if
she wanted to wag the next class. Wag a class? Skip the
class is what was meant.
I was helping
in a second grade reading class one day when a question came from an innocent
looking youngster. “ Do you have a rubber I can use?” Well,
in America, a rubber is a condom.
Being the
professional, retired speech therapist that I am, I calmly asked,
“Do
I have a what?” When he answered with, “I made a mistake on my paper and
need to rub it off.”
My mind
quickly replaced the word rubber with eraser and I proceeded to locate
the required object.
We had countless
amusing situations similar to these during our early days and worked hard
to learn the idiosyncrasies quickly!-though it did make social occasions
doubly funny.
We have now
attained resident status, our daughter is working downtown, my husband
is a partner in a business and we continue to come across and
learn more of the Kiwi language and experience that Kiwi attitude!
Kia ora -
Hello, hope all is well with you - Maori term
Pekeha - resident
or visitor who is not Polynesian, Maori term for pale coloured stranger
Hard case
- well liked person who jokes with you
Bonnet - a
lift up cover over a vehicle engine (hood)
Boot - storage
section in back of a vehicle (trunk)
Chips - chopped
potatoes deep boiled and eaten hot (French fries)
Dairy - small
shop containing dairy foods and mixed grocery items (convenience store)
Rubbish -
unwanted waste - trash
FTPOS - Electronic
Transfer of Point of Sale - money card from a bank (debit card)
Trolley -
shopping cart
Mozzie - mosquito
Jandals -
Japanese sandal, any sort of sandal
Singlet -
sleeveless vest or shirt-tank top
Togs - swimming
clothing
Sweet as,
Wicked - expression of excitement-cool! Awesome!
Dodgy - bad,
unreliable
Flash - fancy
Cheeky - bold,
impertinent, sassy
Stoked - fired
up, energized
Keen - enthusiastic,
interested, desirous
Ya’ reckon
- shade of confident opinion of being a good thing, “I reckon I will go.”
- can be used as a question (think so?)
Aye - exclamation
added to the end of a sentence to make a question (what or huh) or astonishment
Kiwi Attitude
- roll up your sleeves and have a go at it!
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