H.

This is the same as the English h.

It is not however known on the western coast of New Zealand to the southward of Mokau, in the district of Taranaki. Its place is supplied by a curious stammer or jirk of the voice. A gentle sibilancy accompanies its pronunciation amongst Ngapuhi, which some speakers erroneously confound with sk.

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K.

K has the sound of the English k; as in kill, &c.

M. N. P.

M, N, P, have the same sound as in English.

R.

R has two sounds: (1) rough; as in rain, river, &c. e. g., kahore, rorea, roro, roto.

(2) The second is more soft, and is formed by a gentle jar of the tongue against the palate; so gentle indeed is the vibration, that most foreigners pronounce it like d or l, as in raro, ruru, rimu, pouaru, pari, muri, mariri, koiri, korikori, kouru, maru.

T.

This is a letter which few Europeans prouonce correctly. It is not pronounced like the t in temper, tea, &c.; but rather like the sharp th of apathy, sympathy, Athens, apothecary. Those who watch a native's tongue while pronouncing this letter, will find that the rule for attaining this sound is, to apply the tongue, not to the root, but to the top of the teeth, and hardly emit a.

W

Has two sounds, one simple, as that in wind? &c., e.g., wai, water, waka, a canoe, ware, a plebeian.

2. An aspirated w, as in when, where, &c.; whai, follow, whare, a house, &c.

NG.

The speaker should be careful, in uttering this sound not to separate the n from the g, as is sometimes done by foreigners. The n and g intimately coalesce, and those who have learned to pronounce the French encore will find no difficulty in catching it. The following rule will, we trust, help the beginner.

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Press the middle of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, near the throat, and simultaneously relax the pressure, and pronounce na. Of course care must be taken that the tip of the tongue does not touch the palate.^*

Following is a table setting forth a few of the variations in pronunciation of the leading dialects of New Zealand.

It will be observed that the name of a place is employed to denote the dialect for which that place and its vicinity are remarkable.

Ngapuhi.	Waikato.	East Cape.	Rotorua.	Taupo.	Taranaki.
Keri	Keri		Kari	Kari	Kari
Tatou	Tatou	Tatau	Tatau	Tatou & Tatau	Tatou
Matou	Matou	Matau	Matau	Matou & Tatau	Matou
Ratou	Ratou	Ratau	Ratau	Ratou & Tatau	Ratou
Koro & Korua	Korua
Koutou	Koutou	Koutau	Koutau	Koutou & Koutau	Koutou
Taua or Tao	Taua	Taua	Taua
Maua or Mao	Maua	Maua	Maua
Raua or Rao	Raua	Raua	Roua
Hei	Hei	Hai	Hai	Hai & Hei	Ei
Kei	Kei	Kai	Kai	Kai & Kei	Kei
Tutei	Tutai	Tuai	Tutai	Tutai	Tutei
Wha					Wa
Maoa	Maia			Maoa	Maia & Maoa
Hohou	Whawhau			Hohou & Whawhua	O-ou
Teina	Teina	Taina	Taina	Teina	Teina
Tarai	Tarai		Tarei	Tarei	Tarai
Heoi	Heoti			Heoti	Eoi & Eoti
Kua	Kua		Koua	Kua & Koua	Ku
Kia	Kia	Kia	Kia	Kia	Ki
Horo	Hohoro				O-oro
Topa	Tao			Tao	Tao
Roa					Ro
Tonu	Tonu	Tou

See also the letters ng and h.