Moriori language

Not to be confused with Morori language.

Moriori
Ta Rē Moriori
Native toNew Zealand
RegionPolynesia
Extinct1898, with the death of Hirawanu Tapu
Revivalabt 50 Fluent Speakers (2014)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3rrm
Glottologmori1267
IETFrrm

Moriori, or ta rē Moriori[2] ('the Moriori language'), is a Polynesian language most closely related to New Zealand Māori. It is spoken by the Moriori, the indigenous people of New Zealand's Chatham Islands (Rēkohu in Moriori), an archipelago located east of the South Island. Moriori went extinct as a first language at the turn of the 20th century, but revitalisation attempts are ongoing.

Moriori is a Polynesian language that diverged from Māori dialects after centuries of isolation, while still remaining mutually intelligible. The language has a guttural diction and consistent suppression of terminal vowels, meaning that unlike in Māori words may end in consonants.[3][4]

  1. ^ https://theconversation.com/waking-a-sleeping-language-our-plan-to-revive-the-speaking-of-ta-re-moriori-218023
  2. ^ "A mission to wake up the Moriori language". www.auckland.ac.nz. University of Auckland. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ^ Richards, Rhys (2018). "Comparisons of Moriori, Maori, and Easter Island Cognates". Rapa Nui Journal. 31 (1): 38–40. doi:10.1353/rnj.0.0001. Project MUSE 716986.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).