Байланысты: New ÐоÑгÑÐ»Ñ Ð.Ð. ÐоÑобие по оÑновам ÑеоÑии изÑÑаемого ÑзÑка
UNIT 5. ENGLISH IN NEW ZEALAND New Zealand is a younger state than Australia. It was settled as a colony in 1840
after the British government signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori chiefs.
Unlike Australia it was a free colony. Many of its first settlers were either Scots or
representatives of the English urban working-class.
From the very start, the life of both of the South and the North Islands of New
Zealand was agrarian.
The development of the distinctive New Zealand variant of English followed the
similar course as in Australia. First of all, English here was influenced by the native
Maori culture. The New Zealanders loaned Maori words for local plants and animals.
The kiwi bird became a national symbol, like the kangaroo in Australia. Yet, the
Maori influence is more conspicuous in the North Islands, where they have always
been more populous.
New Zealand of today uses all familiar Australian diminutives and
abbreviations:
beaut, arvo (afternoon),
smoko, etc. Besides, New Zealenders have
there own lexical units, for example, a slang phrase
dragging the chain , popular in
New Zealand, meaning “to work slowly” or
hoot - a word for “money ”borrowed
from Maori.
The common vocabulary of New Zealand English is significantly influenced by
Australia. The
bush meaning “uncleared land, forest or scrub” is the most
conspicuous example.
Bush gave rise to the appearance of numerous compounds:
bushfire, bush telegraph and
bush lawyer .
Equally, there are groups of New Zealand lexicon which are unique to the
islands. An Australian
weekender is a
bach in New Zealand. In some country
districts, roads are called
lines .
It is remarkable that when there is a choice between British and American usage,
a New Zealander will turn towards British, whereas an Australian will rather prefer
the American variant.
