(Notes prepared by Dr Richard Benton, General Editor of the Dictionary. See also separate notes on Contributors to the Tai Tokerau Dictionary, and Abbreviations for Sources of Information, Locations, and Parts of Speech.)

Beginnings
A People's Dictionary
How Entries Are (Supposed to Be) Structured
Special Features
- Phrases and Idioms
- People
- Iwi and Hapü Names
- Places
- "Encyclopaedic Entries"
Plan of Action
Editing Stages
How You Can Help!

Beginnings.

The Tai Tokerau Dictionary project was launched in 1997, with the help of a substantial grant from the NZ Lottery Grants Board (through its Environment and Heritage Committee). Continuance of the work over the next two years was made possible by generous support from Te Puni Kökiri and the University of Auckland Staff Research Fund.
In the early stages, a main concern was to collect words unique to Tai Tokerau, and publish a book which listed these along with examples of how they are used and what they mean. Because most Tai Tokerau people these days have English as their first language, it was decided that the explanations would be in English. Up to about the end of 1999, that was done mostly by including after each Maori word a list of English words that together more or less covered the range of meanings of the Maori word, and translating the various example sentences included with each entry. The dictionary was also to have included a brief grammar of Tai Tokerau Maori, to help users see how the different kinds of words fitted together to express what people using them wanted to say to each other.

That original plan has been modified in various ways since work on the project started in 1997. Firstly, it was soon realized that there are comparatively few words that are unique to the North, although there are probably subtle ways in which quite a number of words known to Maori speakers elsewhere are used differently there. Secondly, it also became very clear that Tai Tokerau people wanted a real dictionary that they could use for their own purposes without having to refer constantly to other sources of information. So fairly early on a decision was made to work on a more comprehensive dictionary, one that people learning and using Mäori in the North could use with confidence that a wide range of everyday words could be found there, along with every known word that was unique to the North. Among these people would be teachers and students at Kura Kaupapa Mäori and bilingual schools, and adults whose parents had not used Mäori with them at home, but who now wanted to learn the language.

This was the situation when I took over the project in October 1999. At the end of the month, I had a preliminary discussion with Dr Meremere Penfold, the chairperson of the dictionary advisory committee, and Andy and Kath Sarich, who had been coordinating field work in Northland communities. At their suggestion a meeting was held in Waimate North a few days later with some of the people who had been key contributors to the dictionary since the project started. These included (among others) the late Graham Rankin, Rev. Te Uru Heta, and Arama Pou. At that meeting I outlined what had been achieved so far, and we then discussed where it might go from there.

A very substantial amount of work had already been done, and the material collected was being organized in a well-constructed database designed with the help of the late Professor Bruce Biggs. A decision to speed up the incorporation of material already collected was confirmed. It was also decided that the time had come to change the approach to collecting material, which, after an initial search of some important writings, had been to consult knowledgeable people through monthly hui in Auckland and regular field trips to the North. This had been a very effective way to launch the dictionary project, but was now far too expensive to continue. Instead, a number of tohunga were appointed by the hui to act as commentators and editors on entries in the dictionary that were being readied for publication, in consultation with other people in their area who were willing to contribute their expertise to the work.

It was also decided In Waimate North that as much as possible of the work should be made available for others to use immediately, even while it was still in a very rough state. That way, help in editing the work, adding new material and generally making it as useful as possible in supporting te reo o te Tai Tokerau can be obtained from a very wide range of people. At the same time people will not need to wait around for years before they can benefit from our joint efforts.

A People's Dictionary.

From the start, there has been no doubt that he dictionary should be anchored in Te Tai Tokerau. This means that it should reflect what is unique about Te Tai Tokerau, as well as what Te Tai Tokerau has in common with other parts of Aotearoa, and indeed the whole Malayo-Polynesian world. It is also very much a "people's dictionary", and the core of it consists of the thousands of examples of how words are used that were supplied by well over two hundred individuals and whänau during the fieldwork stage (1997-99), including the English translations which the contributors supplied. It is even more of a "people's dictionary now, as the James Henare Maori Research Centre, under whose auspices the work was begun, went into recess at the beginning of 2004, and continued work on the dictionary depends entirely on volunteer efforts by the editor and other interested people -- even the website is privately sponsored.

Only very minor editing has been done to the early contributions -- mostly adding (or substituting) macrons to mark vowel length and providing alternative spellings for headwords to enable those with long vowels to be found easily, and correcting obvious typographical and transcription errors. In adding new material we have been drawing as far as possible from the speech and writing of Taitokerau native-speakers of Maori, and especially from material that has not been prepared specially for a dictionary or a textbook on the Maori language. The kinds of things you can expect to find in this dictionary as it develops are:

• Words used by native-speakers of Mäori of Tai Tokerau descent living in Tai Tokerau, and needed for everyday conversation, reading and writing about a wide range of subjects;
• Words unique to Tai Tokerau, and special meanings of words also used elsewhere;
• Words used in Maori-language publications and manuscripts by Tai Tokerau writers, and in recordings of native-speakers of Mäori from the region intended primarily for local audiences;
• Names of places in Te Tai Tokerau (localities; natural features such as streams, rivers, and mountains; important gathering places such as marae);
• Names of Tai Tokerau iwi and hapü;
• Names of people who have had an impact on Tai Tokerau history;
• Mäori surnames and first names commonly encountered in the North.

The orientation of the dictionary is towards the Mäori words – the English explanations are there simply to make the material as accessible as possible to everyone in the North. The important thing is that this resource will not be just a word list – it should be a means by which people will be helped to talk with each other in Mäori, easily, clearly and naturally. Eventually, we will compile a list of the English words used in translating the explanations and definitions of the Mäori headwords. This is still far in the future, and to start with it would probably be an index to the Mäori entries, rather than a stand-alone dictionary itself. In the meantime, anyone wanting to searh for Maori equivalents to English words can do so through the search facility on the website.

How Entries Are (Supposed to Be) Structured

In harmony with these goals, eventually every entry will incorporate some of these features:

1. The headword (that is, the word that has determined where the entry will go in the dictionary – the one that the entry is mainly about) in bold type;
2. a number in square brackets to distinguish entries for words with the same form but expressing different ideas (e.g. hau [1] "wind", hau [2] "chop", hau [3] "I, me");
3. Spelling variants -- we are going to use the macron consistently in all entries, but to make it easier to find headwords, those which are written with macrons will also be followed by the "double vowel" and unmarked variants, inside angle brackets. (At present, all three variants are scattered through the data, as everything was originally transcribed exactly as it was written by each of our 200 plus contributors;
4. What suffixes (endings to indicate a special function, eg –ngia, -tanga) can be added to the simple form of the word (where appropriate -- for example, in the entry for inu, below) and also reduplicated forms when these have very similar meanings to the base form;
5. Where applicable, the list or file from which the word was incorporated in the original database (a three-character abbreviation in braces);
6. The part of speech, in square brackets (what kind of word it is, for example a "noun", which is used mainly to refer to a particular object or idea and is used in some kinds of grammatical constructions but not others, a "universal" word that has many functions, and so on – this will be explained in detail in the grammar part of the dictionary);
7. An explanation of the word in Maori, followed by:
8. A translation of the explanation in English (with further comment where needed) and/or:
9. English words that can be used to translate some key senses of the Mäori word (in italics);
10. Examples of the use of the word in sentences provided by the contributors, and also where possible drawn from speech or writing by native speakers which was not originally intended to be used in a dictionary (the source of an example is indicated by an abbreviation in square brackets -- see the file on "Abbreviations and Sources" for more information about this); along with
11. English translations of the examples;
12. Examples of idioms, whakatauaki and other sayings which incorporate the word in a special way (these may be listed separately right after the headword if that is the first element -- see the example below);
13. Information with examples about special or derived meanings of the headword (e.g., türanga in the entry for tü -- more predictable meanings may be listed as part of item (4) -- see the examples in the entry for ua, below);
14. The whakapapa of the word, where this is known (e.g. some words can be traced right back to the language spoken by the ancestors of the Malagasy, Malay, Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian peoples before their dispersal through the Philippines into the Eastern and Western Pacific and beyond, whereas others are unique to Aotearoa or even to particular parts of Te Tai Tokerau);
15. Cross-references to related words and others with similar meanings or uses that appear elsewhere in the dictionary.

That is the ideal. In fact, there are at present (November 27, 2004) probably no entries in the dictionary that meet each of the fifteen criteria in the list, and of course for many entries only a few of the criteria actually apply. The essential ones which are or should be reflected in most entries are underlined in the list above (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 9, 10 and 11). We are working with our volunteers to revise each of the existing entries along these lines, and gradually a higher proportion of the entries will incorporate most or all of those features that are relevant to them.

There are some entries that are almost complete, and a few of these will do for now as illustrations of how the entries are supposed to look:

Special Features

Phrases and idioms. As editing proceeds, groups of words with special meanings will be identified where they are already present, and added as they are contributed or found in other sources, and listed as separate entries cross-referenced to at least one headword. These "head phrase" for these entries will be underlined – as in this example:

People. There are very few entries relating to people at present, but this is an aspect of the dictionary that will be given more attention as the existing entries are edited. Most "people" entries will be short ones, sometimes with reference to sources. A formula for entries from whakapapa more than, say, five or six generations from the present, could often be "A tupuna who lived in [such and such a place] [so many] generations after/before [so and so] (see [some related entry])". More recent entries for individuals could take the form of brief descriptions such as "MP for Te Tai Tokerau 1993-1999"; "A chief from Pakaraka who signed the Treaty of Waitangi", and so on. Maori proper names originating in the North, including Maori forms of names not of Maori origin, used widely in the North, and names originating in the North, will be included even when not cross-referenced to particular individuals.

Iwi and Hapü names. We do have a lot of material on iwi anf hapü names drawn from old electoral rolls, which is slowly being incorporated in the dictionary, and we hope that further information will be supplied by members of these groups as time goes on.

Places. These can be identified by brief information about their location, sometimes with extra notes on points of special significance. The aim will be to get all Maori place names in the North (including marae, hapü and iwi meeting houses, etc.) included eventually.

"Encyclopaedic Entries". As editing progresses, an increasing number of entries will have an "encyclopaedic" quality. That is, either the definition will include a very full description of the object, place, state or activity that the word refers to, as in the example below, or else there will be similar information included in a note at the end of the entry -- sometimes both of these features, as in the second of the two examples below. This is because people often use dictionaries to find out what a word actually means, rather than just get a brief equivalent for it which may not lead to much understanding. For punawaru, we could have just put "A plant, Siegesbeckia orientalis", but that would have left most people none the wiser. So I took the trouble to find out a bit more about this sense of the word, and was able to write a little story about the plant as a result. Similarly, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the research I had done on rähui with readers of the dictionary to give a picture of how this institution fits into a wider context.

punawaru [2] {HWW} [Noun]. A woody herb with small sticky flowers and fruit which most people regard as a weed (botanical name Siegesbeckia orientalis ), but which has become an important source of ingredients in some cosmetics and anti-aging preparations because of the aspirin-like chemicals in its sap; it is a member of the daisy family, native to Southeast Asia, Aotearoa and Chile; it is used in China to treat rheumatic pain; in England it is called the holy herb . [040105]

rähui [1] < raahui, rahui > ~tia [Universal] This word refers both to (1) a mark (often a pole topped with a bunch or twigs, fern fronds, grass, hair or garment) signifying that an area had been temporarily set aside for some reason, and should not be entered, and (2) the act or process of establishing a rähui. This proscription might be total, directed at the taking of a particular resource, e.g. birds or eels, or limiting access to certain people. The strictest form of rähui involved special karakia designed to ensure very severe consequences (including death) for violation of the restriction (consequences which would be be enforced by human agency when supernatural sanctions were ineffective – the term kairämua was used to denote such a breach, and its perpetrator would be killed if caught). However rähui could also be proclaimed by chiefs with sufficient mana, without karakia, and usually were on an occasional basis (e.g. in consequence of a drowning or other incident affecting the area concerned). Important related terms are maro (or puhi ), the bunch of herbage attached to the pole; turuki , a karakia to enforce a rähui; and kapu (or whatu ), the symbol containing the power of the rähui – this may be located in the maro, but might also be hidden somewhere else in the area affected, so that counter-incantations directed at the maro would be rendered ineffective. The term pou rähui was sometimes used to indicate a boundary post, presumably intended to represent a more permanent arrangement than a typical rähui. In modern usage, especially officialese, the meaning of rähui is often extended to form a counterpart to English words like “ban”, “reserve” and “prohibit”. [Extract from Te Mätäpunenga]. He rähui kei runga i nga manu tui, tïtï. There is a prohibition in place on Tui and Mutton-birds . [MWA] The term rähui is ultimately derived from Nuclear Polynesian * lafu “prohibit”, but its immediate ancestor (shared with Easter Island, Tahitian, and related languages) is Eastern Polynesian * räfui (note the long vowel); its meanings in Marquesan and Rarotongan are very similar to that in New Zealand Mäori.

Plan of Action

In order to get the information we already have to a lot of people at the lowest possible cost, we put the whole database in its draft state on the World Wide Web towards the end of 2001 -- the link was opened at a special function in Kaeo attended by people from many parts of Taitokerau in December 2001 (click here to see a gallery of pictures taken on that occasion). Since then, we have replaced or added many sections of the original material with newer, more complete and accurate revisions as these have been completed. We have invited köhanga reo, schools, other educational institutions, and public libraries throughout the North, from Glen Innes to Te Hapua, to allow visitors, staff and students to use the database (and send us corrections, comments and new material) through their World Wide Web and Internet connections.

Up to the end of 2004, these priority areas had been attended to:

• Loading database entries as at October 2001 in paragraphs on to the web
• Advising past, present and potential contributors and users of how to get access to the web site and contribute advice and information
• Incorporating outstanding material from the 1997-9 fieldwork into the database
• Sending out drafts to consultants to check and/or revise
• Putting amended entries into the database and on the web with links to others

On going work includes:

• Completing the transfer of material collected 1997-9 onto the website (this means checking all existing files anainst the final versions of the 1997-9 database to ensure that nothing has been left out -- in 2004 this has been finalized at least for the letter "T"
• Transferring all data (old and new) into a new, more easily managed database
• Looking for actual examples of use & incorporating these // archiving accessibly superfluous ones [We will be using material from published sources, manuscripts, transcriptions of broadcasts and kaumatua talking about various topics etc., to try to get as many of the examples as possible from speech and writing that was not specially designed for a dictionary!]
• Incorporating further amendments to existing entries
• Incorporating new general entries
• Adding in material from whakatauaki, pepeha, etc
• Adding in place names, hapü and iwi names, and ancestral names by letter
• Adding in lexicographical information by letter
• Updating web files incrementally
• Sending out material for review to key contributors
• Checking the weekly lists of words searched for, to see what would have been missed and should be added

When substantial progress has been made on all these fronts, it will be possible to prepare a printed wersion of the dictionary for general distribution. In the mean time, the on-line version enables many people who need or are interested in the work to have access to what has been done so far.

Editing stages

The editing process is a complex one, but the things that needed to be done were itemised in a rough order of priority at the end of 1999, and these "stages" are still quite relevant. At each stage, comments are sought and welcmed from the pükörero who are working with us, and from other people from Tai Tokerau who volunteer to help us – this includes those who offer suggestions, advice, or ask for particular kinds of information through the e-mail facility on our web site.

Stages 1, 2 and 3A are largely completed, although some checking is still needed to ensure that all material in the original database does in fact appear in the web pages. The remaining matters are still being worked on, or will be, ä te wä.

By the time all these stages have been completed, an English-Maori index to the dictionary should also be available, and the whole work can be published in hard-copy form.

How You Can Help Us

This dictionary is a cooperative venture, very much based on the principle of “näu te pärö, näkü te pärö, ka ora te whänau”. Here are some ways in which the users of Te Papakupu o te Tai Tokerau can help expand and improve the work.

(1) Let us know what isn't there .

If you search for a word (either Mäori, or for a Mäori counterpart of an English word) and it isn't there, let us know. Just send an e-mail to papakupu@rakiora.maori.nz.

(2) Let us know about hidden words .

There are two ways that words that ought to be in the Papakupu can be hidden.

(a) They can be in an example sentence, but not as a separate headword; and

(b) They can be in the Te Wahapü database, but not in Te Papakupu.

Search results that are headed Te Papakupu o Te Taitokerau are from Te Papakupu, and those headed Whakaaro mä te Rautau Rua Tekau are from Te Wahapü.

Every Mäori word that comes up in the examples for a Papakupu entry should also have an entry to itself. Not all do – and it will be a big help if you help us to locate these refugees! We don't actually want every word in Te Wahapü to appear in the Papakupu, as some are obsolete or have little currency within Taitokerau. Just the same there are many other Mäori words there that should be represented by full entries in Te Papakupu, and you can help us to identify which is which.

(3) Provide us with more information about words and meanings .

You can do this in several ways.

(a) First of all just let us know if you think the definition of an existing entry is inadequate, incomplete or misleading. We won't be offended – this is work in progress and we know that it's far from perfect! And we will appreciate any extra information you would like to supply about any word or what it refers to – for example, about plants, birds and other creatures whose names are in the dictionary but not accompanied by much in the way of explanation.

(b) In regard to the information that is there, if you'd like to offer a Mäori translation of explanations which at the moment are there only in English, please do so. Again, this kind of help will be very much appreciated.

(c) If you have a good example of how a word is used which would add value to what's in the dictionary (or what should be there), send it to us, along with a translation and information about who said it or where the example came from, if you didn't make it up yourself.

(d) With iwi, hapü and place names – if you are from those people or that place, and either the name is not in the dictionary or there's not much information about it, send us background information, whakatauaki, and anything else that would bring it alive (for example, links to famous people, historical events or other places).

(4) Help us with data entry .

There are two ways you can do this.

(a) When you send us information for inclusion in Te Papakupu, format it following the guidelines in the General Background Information page. That way it will be much easier for us to integrate it quickly into the database.

(b) If you can type fast and have access to Word 2000 or compatible software, you can volunteer to help with the formatting of existing and new entries. If you do think you can help in this way, send an e-mail to us at papakupu@rakiora.maori.nz, and we'll put you in touch with one of the people coordinating this part of the work.

"Mä tini mä mano ka rapa te whai."

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[This document last revised 2 February, 2006, 7.39 a.m.]

This document has been accessed through the Taitokerau Sustainable Development Research group web site - http://www.rakiora.org. It may be quoted or reproduced provided that acknowledgement is made to the author/s and source.