New Zealand

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by stuartnz

[....]
Oh, and no matter how many languages I dabble in, I don't think I'll ever bother with IPA.

/əts sta:təng tə sɪnd mi bɛtty/
Ut's mint to be the Kiwi eccent for "It's starting to send me batty"

[Merentha]

"Kia Ora" is not a standard Maori thank you, it's a standard greeting/farewell. It is listed in many new Zealand dictionaries and glossaries; here is one of the better explanations (with usage examples) that I've seen:

An Argentine-American in New Zealand: NZ Dictionary entry

A sound file for pronunciation can be found here:
Reo Maaori Sound Files

Non-Maori Kiwis use this expression, too. I've received many emails from my NZ friends that began with "Kia ora".

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Merentha

[GUEST2008]

Originally Posted by Merentha

I've received many emails from my NZ friends that began with "Kia ora".

Me too. And they usually ended with "Ka kite ano"

[stuartnz]

Originally Posted by Merentha

"Kia Ora" is not a standard Maori thank you,

I'm sorry, but you are totally wrong. EVERY native speaker I know, and people I've worked with whose entire schooling from pre-school to tertiary was conducted in Maaori, as well as friends who teach Maaori in Maaori-language schools all say the same thing - "kia ora" is the ONLY standard way of saying "thank you" in Maaori.

There aren't many subjects I know that much about, by I definitely know quite a bit about te reo Maaori. I consider myself fortunate to know people for whom it is their first language (there are VERY few of such people), as well as knowing many more who are bilingual or fluent. The teachers I mentioned have five sons, and when I first met them, none of the boys spoke English. So I would suggest that before contradicting someone, you make sure that your information is correct. Otherwise, readers might get confused, and perhaps give the incorrect statements more credence than they deserve.

[stuartnz]

Originally Posted by Raymott

/əts sta:təng tə sɪnd mi bɛtty/
Ut's mint to be the Kiwi eccent for "It's starting to send me batty"

Oh, I had absolutely no trouble deciphering it. I was just saying that I'm way to lazy to bother learning IPA myself.