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First Lessons in Maori

Preface

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Preface.

This work was first published in London in 1862, and has since then passed through eight editions.

In the second and third editions a fair amount of new matter was incorporated, a few important changes were made in the fourth, while a very thorough revision was carried out in 1904, when many of the paragraphs were entirely re-written.

The English-Maori vocabulary formed part of the work from the first, but the Maori-English portion was added in the sixth edition, and contained only such words as were necessary for the exercises which were introduced at that time.

The conversations first appeared in the second edition, and have been reprinted with little or no alteration.

In the eighth edition the body of the work was, once more, subjected to a thorough revision. The vocabularies were materially enlarged by the inclusion of a number of words which may be expected to occur in ordinary conversation with Maoris. It will be noticed that many of the words in the vocabularies are of recent adoption into the language, but in every case it is believed that these forms are the ones likely now to be used by a Maori, even though there was, in some cases, already a genuine Maori word which would have served the purpose. In the majority of cases, however, the Maori has been forced to adopt some word to represent an idea with which he had had in the past no acquaintance.

In this edition a few paragraphs have been re-written, and several corrections made, but otherwise the work is unaltered.

An Index of Subjects has been added in order to assist the student in referring to the work.

H. W. WILLIAMS.


Napier,April 2, 1930.