For some time you have been able to find Maori subject headings under the subject indexes in HIP and this is still the case. Two more indexes have now been added specifically for Maori subject headings which enables Maori headings to be browsable. The index order in HIP is: Subject begins with, Subject keywords, Maori subject begins with, and Maori subject keyword.
Maori subject headings working group
Nice! Is it possible to get the macron over the a in the drop-down menu or does the font not play nice there?
Deborah
I wouldn’t have thought that made sense if the interface is in English.
We use the macron elsewhere on English pages of our site (eg "Māori names were conferred on all six libraries"; "Māori Land Court Records" and a whole pile more at http://ucgoogle1.canterbury…!&sitesearch=library.canterbury.ac.nz), as does the university (departments include Māori and Indigenous Studies, and Māori, Social and Cultural Studies in Education).
Deborah
And some of those are a bit odd too in my view. But the point is the English word for Maori is "Maori" – even in NZ English dictionaries. It seems a bit strange to combine two languages in one phrase. If we had a dual language interface option (as we should have in my view) then I have no problem with it… Or are we suggesting the spelling in NZ English should be different?
Doesn’t seem to work atm btw
Dictionaries reflect usage, and past usage has been influenced by the fact that keyboards and fonts haven’t made it easy to use the macrons. Now that fonts are making it easier and easier, more and more people are using them — including the University and the Library — so I’d argue that not only *should* the spelling in NZ English be different from that shown in dictionaries, but that it actually already *is*.
Besides, even though the current interface is English-only (I’d love a bilingual interface, though admit that’d be a bit more work than fixing a couple of macrons!) these indexes point to Te Reo content, so it makes sense that they should reflect Te Reo spelling.
Deborah
The media doesn’t seem to be using with much yet.
Googlefight..
16.7m without (lang=Eng)
9.28m with (lang=Eng)
Seems to be working again now – either with or without the macron.
1/3 is pretty impressive. (On a blog search I’m seeing about a 50:50 split.) Wikipedia, Te Ara, the Ministry of Ma:ori Development, and most of the recent legislation at http://legislation.govt.nz/… use the macron; everything I can see points to a strong trend over time from neglecting it towards using it, which I suspect goes along with the trend towards recognising the importance and mana of Te Reo. I see no reason (unless there are technological ones) why we should buck that trend.
Deborah
Time for the NZ keyboard!
I think the argument about whether a term becomes English in an English sentence is more academic than practical and agree with Deborah’s view that dictionaries merely reflect usage.
I would prefer to see Mâori words with macrons and recommend using the Mâori Language Commission’s website as an example- they use macrons except when referring to a title which did not have a macron in it. If we use Mâori words that have different meanings with and without macrons, the meaning will be much clearer if we use macrons.
I think that as an institution we should support te reo Mâori and using macrons does this by enabling people to see correctly spelt words (and therefore know how to pronounce them correctly).
The following is quoted from the National Library website about the Maori subject headings:
"The purpose is to provide a structured path to subjects that Mâori customers can relate to and use to find material in libraries. It is not intended to be used as a dictionary. It has been developed so that cataloguers and descriptive archivists have a reliable and comprehensive resource to use when describing material either in or about Mâori. It will be used by the National Library of New Zealand to enhance its service to Mâori library users. However it should not be seen as authoritative beyond its intended purpose for use in libraries and archives."
Alison W.