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New Zealand English is the variety of English that has been used in New Zealand for over 200 years. It has much in common with Australian English, but differs from it in coexisting with, and influencing and being influenced by, Maori and other Polynesian languages. There are three varieties of pronunciation: (1) Cultivated New Zealand, similar to Received Pronunciation in the United Kingdom; (2) Broad New Zealand, with low prestige; (3) General New Zealand, occupying the social middle ground. In New Zealand English, on the whole, r is not pronounced in words such as art, door, and worker. Distinctive pronunciations include the vowels in words such as ham and pen, and a short i in "fish," these being heard by outsiders as "hem," "pin," and fush, respectively. In addition, final y, as in city and tidy, may be lengthened, becoming "citee" and "tidee." There is little distinctiveness in grammar, but New Zealand English vocabulary has two special features, the first being adoptions from Maori, e.g., pakeha (a European, also a common name for white New Zealanders generally), haere mai (a term of greeting), hongi (to press noses, the Maori greeting), kiwi (a flightless bird unique to New Zealand and by extension a New Zealander), and rahui (a sign warning against trespassing). The second major vocabulary feature involves words shared with and borrowed from Australia, e.g., larrikin for hooligan, ocker for boor, shanghai for catapult, and truckie for truck driver. See Australian English.
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