I’m thinking of other greeting questions. There’s “What’sup?”, sort of a cultural descendant of “What’s happening?” Both seem to ask neither what you are doing or your motion toward a goal, but what is going on around you.
And perhaps most probing is “How are you?” No vector, no action, no interest in what’s going on around you, but in inquiry into your mental and/or physical state. I think that it is precisely because the question is potentially invasive that most people don’t expect, wait for or care about a response. I usually do care, but “How’re you?” is mostly not treated as a question at all, but just the equivalent of a nod or a “hi”.
Yes! I struggled with this--like, when is a greeting question not a question at all?? How ya goin can be pretty greeting-only, I think, though of course as a confessional American I always try to answer it directly. I think one reason I like kia ora so much is that it's definitely *not* a question. Kia ora takes you as you come. Not that non-questions are false! But it's a different meeting point, isn't it? I could think/write about this stuff for days. And what about HOWDY??
I really enjoyed reading this. Is your long term ambition to have a full conversation in Māori? Are there people who speak only Māori to eachother, or is it more normal to just pepper it into English conversations, or proper code switching (not sure I am using the term correctly, but I hope you see what I am trying to ask?)
Hi Liza! It's totally code-switching! NZ is fascinating this way. Short version: Everybody saids kia ora! Didn't used to be that way. See the link below for the great story of Naida Glavish, the "Kia ora lady," who as a telephone operator in the 80s made te reo a national cause. There are some fully fluent speakers, but a whole lot more of folks, Māori and Pākehā and otherwise, eagerly learning and having a go. Meanwhile standard Kiwi English has lots of reo words that people use all the time. (Example: whanau, with the 'wh' said as an 'f' sound, is a lovely word for wider and more community version of family.) Te Reo is common in formal occasions, too--assemblies at school, or the opening of the morning news of RNZ. Always a fan, myself. I'd love to learn more. There's lots of fascinating & chewy discourse out there about the role of reo both within the Māori community and as part of a broader, decolonizing NZ identities, a conversation I find super interesting but ain't mine to enter, really, beyond a note like this one! Anyhow. Thanks so much for reading!
I love me a good Kia Ora. My challenge this year is to learn a whakatauki or two i casually drop into the conversation. Particularly love the one about kumara not knowing how sweet it is.
Yes! The aphorisms are a great. I love ‘Ka mate kainga tahi ka ora kainga rua' (when one home dies, a second home lives). My kids taught me the numbers and I could piece together the rest. But...it's one thing to be like 'wow, that's cool' and quite another to have it ready for the conversation drop, right?? We can do this. Kia ora!
Nice work, insightful!
I’m thinking of other greeting questions. There’s “What’sup?”, sort of a cultural descendant of “What’s happening?” Both seem to ask neither what you are doing or your motion toward a goal, but what is going on around you.
And perhaps most probing is “How are you?” No vector, no action, no interest in what’s going on around you, but in inquiry into your mental and/or physical state. I think that it is precisely because the question is potentially invasive that most people don’t expect, wait for or care about a response. I usually do care, but “How’re you?” is mostly not treated as a question at all, but just the equivalent of a nod or a “hi”.
Yes! I struggled with this--like, when is a greeting question not a question at all?? How ya goin can be pretty greeting-only, I think, though of course as a confessional American I always try to answer it directly. I think one reason I like kia ora so much is that it's definitely *not* a question. Kia ora takes you as you come. Not that non-questions are false! But it's a different meeting point, isn't it? I could think/write about this stuff for days. And what about HOWDY??
I really enjoyed reading this. Is your long term ambition to have a full conversation in Māori? Are there people who speak only Māori to eachother, or is it more normal to just pepper it into English conversations, or proper code switching (not sure I am using the term correctly, but I hope you see what I am trying to ask?)
Hi Liza! It's totally code-switching! NZ is fascinating this way. Short version: Everybody saids kia ora! Didn't used to be that way. See the link below for the great story of Naida Glavish, the "Kia ora lady," who as a telephone operator in the 80s made te reo a national cause. There are some fully fluent speakers, but a whole lot more of folks, Māori and Pākehā and otherwise, eagerly learning and having a go. Meanwhile standard Kiwi English has lots of reo words that people use all the time. (Example: whanau, with the 'wh' said as an 'f' sound, is a lovely word for wider and more community version of family.) Te Reo is common in formal occasions, too--assemblies at school, or the opening of the morning news of RNZ. Always a fan, myself. I'd love to learn more. There's lots of fascinating & chewy discourse out there about the role of reo both within the Māori community and as part of a broader, decolonizing NZ identities, a conversation I find super interesting but ain't mine to enter, really, beyond a note like this one! Anyhow. Thanks so much for reading!
The kia ora lady: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/100070037/kia-ora-lady-made-dame-companion
If you just want to hear more spoken, check out Māori TV: https://www.maoriplus.co.nz/live-tv
Thank you for such an elaborate answer Dan, so fascinating. I look forward to reading more from you.
October 15. That's my deadline. Kia ora and nga mihi nui, Dan ✊
One word after another...give 'em hell!
Challenge accepted. :)
I love me a good Kia Ora. My challenge this year is to learn a whakatauki or two i casually drop into the conversation. Particularly love the one about kumara not knowing how sweet it is.
Yes! The aphorisms are a great. I love ‘Ka mate kainga tahi ka ora kainga rua' (when one home dies, a second home lives). My kids taught me the numbers and I could piece together the rest. But...it's one thing to be like 'wow, that's cool' and quite another to have it ready for the conversation drop, right?? We can do this. Kia ora!
Tudo bem!
Obrigado!
Ka rawe!
Ngā mihi!