Customer Reviews

Let's Learn Maori

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I used the previous edition of this book, and thought it was the best book from which to learn Maori. This edition is even better - the explanations of the grammar are even clearer. The only improvement needed is to add audio tapes to help with the pronunciation.

My earliest attempts at trying to understand the structure of a Polynesian language (Hawaiian) didn't get very far, principally because I found the authors' explanations of phrase structure confusing. Once I had read Bruce Biggs' explanation of Polynesian phrase structure, et al., in his book, "Let's Learn Maori" (LLM), everything started falling into place. His discription of Maori "parts of speech" is also clear and precise. He also keeps his explanation and examples of the verbal particles simple. There is a lot to recommend this book for the serious student of the Maori language, especially when LLM is used with the audio tapes that are designed to go with the text, but I would also recommend at least one other text to study along with LLM; one recommendation is John Foster's He Whakamarama: A Full Self-help Course in Maori (with audiotapes), and an out-of-print book by Hoani R. Waititi, "Te Rangatahi" books 1 and 2 -- I have the early 1970s edition.

It should be noted that LLM has one "curious" feature that some may find "off-putting": Polynesian languages have both long and short vowels, and most grammars, if they represent this important distinction at all, use macrons to represent the long vowels. Biggs follows the convention of the University of Auckland by representing long vowels with doubled letters: manu 'bird', maanu 'afloat'; tupuna 'grandparent', tuupuna 'grandparents'.

"Let's Learn Maori" is an excellent text for gaining a deeper understanding of the structure of this beautiful language, but the author's intent, I surmise, was that it should be used as a supplemental resource while using other basic grammar texts and materials. I highly recommend this book for any serious student of Maori.