New Zealand English – The Spinoff

Does good grammar really matter?

28 May 20183 May 2018 by Andreea Calude

The emphasis placed on formal written grammar in schools obscures the fact that English has many kinds of grammar – and they’re all equally valid, writes Waikato University senior lecturer in linguistics, Andreea Calude. “But don’t you want your kids to get a job one day?” There are almost 200 people in this room. It’s … Read more

Simon Bridges has the accent of New Zealand’s future. Get used to it

23 December 201825 February 2018 by Elizabeth Gordon

New Zealanders sometimes like to claim that they are a classless society but anyone studying New Zealand English would know this isn’t true, writes NZ language expert Elizabeth Gordon In the early 1900s people were commenting on the newly developing New Zealand accent. They called it a “colonial twang” and they hated it. They said … Read more