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Aotearoa (NZ Māori National Anthem)

The Lyrics: Māori, Literal English and Free English

There are three sets of lyrics below:

The lyrics are displayed in the order of Māori, Literal English and Free English, because the intent of Correspondence is to teach a new language (in this case Māori) by showing text in that language next to a literal word-for-word translation into the reader's native language (in this case English).

Mouse over the lyrics to see the relationships between the Māori and the English translations.

Verse 1
Māori
E Ihowā Atua,
O ngā iwi mātou rā
Āta whakarangona;
Me aroha noa
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tō atawhai;
Manaakitia mai Aotearoa
Literal English
O Lord, God,
Of all(?) of us, the people
Carefully(?) listen (to us),
May (your) love (for us) be unlimited(?)
May good flourish,
May your blessings flow(?)
May (your) protection(?) come to (us)(?) Aotearoa
Free English
O Lord, God,
Of all people
Listen to us,
Cherish us
May good flourish,
May your blessings flow
Defend Aotearoa
Verse 2
Māori
Ōna mano tāngata
Kiri whero, kiri mā,
Iwi Māori, Pākehā,
Rūpeke katoa,
Nei ka tono ko ngā hē
Māu e whakaahu kē,
Kia ora mārire Aotearoa
Literal English
His many people,
Red skin, white skin
Māori people, and Pākehā,
Everyone, come together,
Here (let us) pray, that (our) sins
Be forgiven
Live long and well, Aotearoa
Free English
Let all people,
Red skin, white skin
Māori, Pākehā
Gather before you
May all our wrongs, we pray,
Be forgiven
So that we might say long live Aotearoa
Verse 3
Māori
Tōna mana kia tū!
Tōna kaha kia ū;
Tōna rongo hei pakū Ki te ao katoa
Aua rawa ngā whawhai Ngā tutū e tata mai;
Kia tupu nui ai
Aotearoa
Literal English
May its prestige always stand!
May its strength hold firm;
May its fame resound to the whole world
Do not have quarrels Nor dissention in the future,
Thus, may it grow (to be) great
Aotearoa
Free English
May it be forever prestigious,
May it go from strength to strength,
May its fame spread far and wide,
Let not strife Nor dissention ensue,
May it ever be great
Aotearoa
Verse 4
Māori
Waiho tona takiwā
Ko te ao mārama;
Kia whiti tōna rā
Taiāwhio noa.
Ko te hae me te ngangau
Meinga kia kore kau;
Waiho i te rongo mau
Aotearoa
Literal English
Let its territory be ever
The enlightened land;
Let its sun shine
All around.
Envy and dissension –;
Let them become nothing at all;
Let peace reign over
Aotearoa
Free English
Let its territory
Be ever enlightened
Throughout the land
Let envy and dissension
Be dispelled,
Let peace reign
Over Aotearoa
Verse 5
Māori
Tōna pai me toitū,
Tika rawa, pono pū; Tōna noho, tāna tū;
Iwi nō Ihowā.
Kaua mōna whakamā;
Kia hau te ingoa;
Kia tū hei tauira;
Aotearoa
Literal English
Let its good features endure,
Righteousness, honesty: Its seat (or residence?), its place of standing (position?, foundation?);
People of God.
Disallow its shame.
Let the name (of Aotearoa) be known;
Stand up as an example (to others);
Aotearoa
Free English
Let its good features endure,
Let righteousness and honesty prevail
Among the people of God
Let it never be ashamed,
But rather, let its name be known
Thereby becoming the model to emulate
Aotearoa

History and Caveat

The Māori version of New Zealands's national anthem "God Defend New Zealand" is "Aotearoa", written by Thomas H Smith in 1878. The Māori version is not a direct translation of the English version, although it does share some of its sentiments.

There is a "back-translation" of the Māori version into English produced by former Māori language commissioner Professor Timoti Karetu.

Unfortunately, Correspondence works best with literal "word-for-word" translations, and some parts of Professor Karetu's translation are not so literal (i.e. those parts are more of a "free translation"). So, for the purposes of demonstrating Correspondence, I have had to make my own translation, using Professor Karetu's translation as a starting point, but changing those parts where his translation is less literal. To do this, not being particularly knowledgeable about the Māori language, I had to look up every word of the Māori lyrics in http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz. And even after doing that, I cannot be sure of what some of the Māori words mean in the specific context of those lyrics. So, as you can see below, my attempted literal translation has a few question marks in it.

If you have any suggestions for improvement, email me.

Note

  1. Professor Karetu left "Aotearoa" as "Aotearoa" in his translation, so I have not changed that. "Aotearoa" is Māori for "New Zealand", which translates more literally as "Land of the Long White Cloud". (Note: even the literal translation of "Aotearoa" is somewhat problematic, as explained here.)

The Correspondence Bracketup source code can be seen in the source code of this web page.