Cook Islands Māori

Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is an official language of the Cook Islands. It is closely related to, but distinct from, New Zealand Māori. Cook Islands Māori is called just Māori when there is no need to distinguish it from New Zealand Māori. It is also known as Māori Kūki Āirani, or as Rarotongan. Many Cook Islanders also call it Te Reo Ipukarea, which translates as 'the language of the ancestral homeland'.

Official status

English is an official language of the Cook Islands, and Cook Islands Māori became an official language also in 2003, as defined by the Te Reo Maori Act 2003.
The Te Reo Maori Act states that Māori:

Writing system and pronunciation

There is a debate about the standardisation of the writing system. Although usage of the macron makarona and the glottal stop amata is recommended, most speakers do not use them in everyday writing. The Cook Islands Māori Revised New Testament uses a standardised orthography that includes the okina and macron.

	Labial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal
Plosive
Tap
Fricative

	Front	Central	Back
Close
Close-mid
Open

Grammar

Cook Islands Māori is an isolating language with very little morphology. Case is marked by the particle that initiates a noun phrase, and like most East Polynesian languages, Cook Islands Māori has nominative-accusative case marking.
The unmarked constituent order is predicate initial: that is, verb initial in verbal sentences and nominal-predicate initial in non-verbal sentences.

Personal pronouns

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st inclusive	au	tāua	tātou¹
1st exclusive	au	māua	mātou²
2nd	koe	kōrua	kōtou
3rd	aia	rāua	rātou

you -2 or more- and I
they and I

Pronoun	Cook Islands Maori	English	Word-to-word and gloss
au	Ka aere au ki te āpii āpōpō	I'm going to school tomorrow.	/ go / I / / the / learn / tomorrow
au	Ka ārote au inanai, nō te ua rā, kua akakore au	I was going to do the ploughing yesterday, but gave it up because of the rain.	/ plough / I / yesterday / because / the / rain / day / / give up /I
koe	Kua kino iā koe tō mātou mōtokā	You damaged our car.	/ bad / by / you //we /car
koe	Ko koe oki, te tangata tā te akavā e kimi nei	You are the person the police are looking for.	/ you / also / the / man / / the / police / /look for/here and now.
aia	Eaa aia i aere mai ei	Why did he/she come?	why / he or she / / go / towards me /
aia	Kāre aia i konei	He/she is not here.	/ he or she / / here

Pronoun	Cook Islands Maori	English	Word-to-word and gloss
Tāua	aere tāua !	Let us go!	go / we two
Tāua	Ko tō tāua taeake tērā ake	Here come our friends.	/ / we two / friend or relative of the same generation speaking, but not in laws./ that / a little time away
we two, us two	Ka oki māua ko Taria ki te kāinga	Taria and I are going back home.	/ return / we two / with / Taria/ / the / home
we two, us two	To tāua taeake tērā ake	Here come our friends.	/ possession / we two / friend / that / a little time
Kōrua : you two	āe ! kua rongo kōrua i te nūti!	Hey! Have you heard the news?	hey / / hear / you two / / the / news /
Kōrua : you two	Na kōrua teia puka	This book belongs to you two.	/ you two / this / book
Rāua : they, them	Tuatua muna tēia, ka akakite ua atu au kia rāua	This is a confidential matter, I shall only tell it to those two.	speak, speech / secret / this / / reveal / only / away / I / towards / they two
Rāua : they, them	No ea mai rāua ?	Where have the two of them been? / What have they been doing?	from / / / they two

Pronoun	Cook Islands Maori	English	Word-to-word and gloss
Tātou : We, us	Koai tā tātou e tiaki nei	Who are we waiting for?	Who / / we, all of us / / wait for / here and now
Tātou : We, us	Kāre ā tātou kai toe	We have no more food.	/ / we, all of us / eat, food / remain, remaining, the rest
Mātou : we, us	Ko mātou ma Tere mā i aere mai ei	We came with Tere and the others.	/ we / with, and / Tere / / go / /
Mātou : we, us	Kua kite mai koe ia mātou	You saw us.	/ see / you / at someone / we
Kōtou :	E aere atu kōtou, ka āru atu au	You go on, and I'll follow.	/ go / / you all / / follow / go / / I
Kōtou :	Ko kōtou koai mā i aere ei ki te tautai?	Who did you go fishing with?	/ you all / who / in company with / / go / / / the / fishing
Rātou : they, them	Kua pekapeka rātou ko Tere	They and Tere have quarrelled.	/ trouble / they all / / Tere
Rātou : they, them	Nō rātou te pupu māroiroi	They have the strongest team.	/ they all / the / team / strong

Tense–Aspect–Mood markers

Most of the preceding examples were taken from , by Jasper Buse with Raututi Taringa edited by Bruce Biggs and Rangi Moekaa, Auckland, 1995.

Possessives

Like most other Polynesian languages, Cook Islands Māori has two categories of possessives, "a" and "o".
Generally, the "a" category is used when the possessor has or had control over the initiation of the possessive relationship. Usually this means that the possessor is superior or dominant to what is owned, or that the possession is considered as alienable. The "o" category is used when the possessor has or had no control over the initiation of the relationship. This usually means that the possessor is subordinate or inferior to what is owned, or that the possession is considered to be inalienable.
The following list indicates the types of things in the different categories:

a is used in speaking of
* Movable property, instruments,
* Food and drink,
* Husband, wife, children, grandchildren, girlfriend, boyfriend,
* Animals and pets,
* People in an inferior position
o is used in speaking of
* Parts of anything
* Feelings
* Buildings and transport
* Clothes
* Parents or other relatives
* Superiors
Vocabulary
Pia : Polynesian arrowroot
Kata : laugh at; laughter;
* kata āviri : ridicule, jeer, mock
Tanu : to plant, cultivate land
angaanga : work, job
Pōpongi : morning
Tātāpaka : a kind of breadfruit pudding
Tuātau : time, period, season;
* ē tuātau ua atu : forever
īmene : to sing, song
Riri : be angry with
Tārekareka : entertain, amuse, match, game, play game
Dialectology

Although most words of the various dialects of Cook Islands Māori are identical, there are some differences.

Rarotonga	Aitutaki	Mangaia	Ngāputoru	Manihiki	Tongareva	English
tuatua		taratara	araara	vananga	akaiti	speak, speech
ānau		ānau	ānau	fanau	hanau	family
kūmara	kūara	kūara	kūmara	kūmara	kumala	sweet potato
kāre	kāore, āore	ei, āore	āita, kāre	kaua, kāre	kore	no, not
tātā	kiriti	tātā	tātā	tātā	tata	write
ura	koni	ura	ingo, oriori, ura	hupahupa	kosaki	dance
akaipoipo	akaipoipo	āāipoipo	akaipoipo	fakaipoipo	selenga	wedding
īkoke	koroio	rakiki	tūngāngā	hikoke	mokisi	thin
are	are	are	are	fare	hare	house
maata	atupaka	ngao	nui, nunui, ranuinui	kore reka	polia	big
matū, pete	ngenengene	pori	poripori	menemene	suesue	fat