New Zealand English (
NZE,
en-NZ[1]) is the form of the
English language used in
New Zealand.
New Zealand English is close to Australian English in pronunciation, but has several subtle differences often overlooked by people from outside these countries. Some of these differences show New Zealand English to have more affinity with the English of southern England than Australian English does. Several of the differences also show the influence of Maori speech. The most striking difference from Australian and other forms of English (although shared partly with South African English) is the flattened i of New Zealand English. The New Zealand accent also has some Scottish influences, particularly in the southern regions of the South Island&_160;– a result of the large number of early Scottish settlers who arrived in the 19th century.
A distinct New Zealand variant of the English language has been in existence since at least 1912, when Frank Swinnerton described it as a "carefully modulated murmur," though it probably goes back further than that. From the beginning of British settlement on the islands, a new dialect began to form by adopting Maori words to describe the flora and fauna of New Zealand, for which English did not have any words of its own.[2]
Where there is a distinct difference between British and US spelling (such as colour/color and travelled/traveled), the British spelling is universally found in New Zealand - New Zealand English sticks very closely to British English in spelling. Some Americanisms have begun to creep in through their exposure in mass media (for example, the use of "math" rather than "maths" as an abbreviation for mathematics), though these spellings are non-standard. Similarly, the British standard name for the last letter of the alphabet, zed, is standard within New Zealand.
