Cook Islands Māori

Eastern Polynesian language of the Cook Islands

This article is about the language. For the people of the Cook Islands, the majority of whom are Cook Islands Māori, see Cook Islanders.

Cook Islands Māori

Māori, Maori Kuki Airani, Māori Kūki ʻĀirani
Native to| Cook Islands, New Zealand
Region| Polynesia

Native speakers

| 13,620 in Cook Islands, 96% of ethnic population (2011 census)[1]
7,725 in New Zealand, 12% of ethnic population (2013)[2]

Language family

Austronesian

* Malayo-Polynesian
* Oceanic
* Polynesian
* Eastern Polynesian
* Tahitic
* Cook Islands Māori

Official status

Official language in

|  Cook Islands
Regulated by| Te Kopapa Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission)
Language codes
ISO 639-2| `rar`
ISO 639-3| Variously:
`rar` – Rarotonga
`pnh` – Tongareva (Penrhyn)
`rkh` – Rakahanga-Manihiki
Glottolog| `raro1241` Southern Cook Island Maori
`penr1237` Māngarongaro
`raka1237` Rakahanga-Manihiki
ELP| Southern Cook Islands Maori
IETF| `rar-CK
mi-CK`

Cook Islands Māori is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is an official language of the Cook Islands. It is closely related to, but distinct from, New Zealand Māori. Cook Islands Māori is called just Māori when there is no need to distinguish it from New Zealand Māori. It is also known as Māori Kūki ʻĀirani (or Maori Kuki Airani), or as Rarotongan.[3] Many Cook Islanders also call it Te Reo Ipukarea, which translates as "the language of the ancestral homeland".

## Official status

[edit]

English is an official language of the Cook Islands, and Cook Islands Māori became an official language also in 2003, as defined by the Te Reo Maori Act 2003.[4]

The Te Reo Maori Act states that Māori:

>   1. means the Māori language (including its various dialects) as spoken or written in any island of the Cook Islands; and
>   2. Is deemed to include Pukapukan as spoken or written in Pukapuka; and
>   3. Includes Māori that conforms to the national standard for Māori approved by Kopapa Reo.

## Writing system and pronunciation

[edit]

There is a debate about the standardisation of the writing system. Although usage of the macron (־) makarona and the glottal stop (ʻ) amata is recommended, most speakers do not use them in everyday writing. The Cook Islands Māori Revised New Testament uses a standardised orthography that includes the ʻokina and macron.[citation needed]

Consonants  | Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal

|
|
|
|

Nasal | m | n | ŋ |
Plosive | p | t | k | ʔ
Tap |  | ɾ |  |
Fricative | f[a] v | s[b] |  | h[c]

1. ^ Present only in Manihiki
2. ^ Present only in Penrhyn
3. ^ Present only in Manihiki and Penrhyn

Vowels  | Front | Central | Back

|
|
|

Close | i iː |  | u uː
Close-mid | e eː |  | o oː
Open |  | a aː |

## Grammar

[edit]

Cook Islands Māori is an isolating language with very little morphology. Case is marked by the particle that initiates a noun phrase, and like most East Polynesian languages, Cook Islands Māori has nominative-accusative case marking.

The unmarked constituent order is predicate initial: that is, verb initial in verbal sentences and nominal-predicate initial in non-verbal sentences.

### Personal pronouns

[edit]

See also: Austronesian personal pronouns

Person  | Singular  | Dual  | Plural

|
|
|

1st inclusive  | au | tāua | tātou1
1st exclusive  | māua | mātou2
2nd  | koe | kōrua | kōtou
3rd  | aia | rāua | rātou

1. you -2 or more- and I
2. they and I

Singular pronoun examples  Pronoun | Cook Islands Maori | English | Word-to-word and gloss

|
|
|

au  | Ka ʻaere au ki te ʻāpiʻi āpōpō listenⓘ | I'm going to school tomorrow. | (unaccomplished asp.)/ go / I / (prep. goal/destination) / the / learn / tomorrow
Ka ʻārote au inanaʻi, nō te ua rā, kua ʻakakore au | I was going to do the ploughing yesterday, but gave it up because of the rain.  | (unaccomplished asp.) / plough / I / yesterday / because (origin) / the / rain / day /(perfect asp.) / give up (litt. "do nothing") /I
koe  | Kua kino iā koe tō mātou mōtokā | You damaged our car. | (perfect asp.) / bad / by / you /(possession)/we (exclusive) /car
Ko koe ʻoki, te tangata tā te ʻakavā e kimi nei | You are the person the police are looking for. | (subject marker) / you / also / the / man / (possession) / the / police / (progressive asp. with "nei") /look for/here and now.
aia  | ʻEaʻa ʻaia i ʻaere mai ei | Why did he/she come? | why (ʻeaʻa... ei) / he or she / (accomplished asp) / go / towards me /
Kāre ʻaia i konei | He/she is not here. | (negation asp.) / he or she / (marking position) / here
Dual pronoun examples  Pronoun | Cook Islands Maori | English | Word-to-word and gloss

|
|
|

Tāua  | ʻaere tāua ! | Let us go! | go / we two (inclusive)
Ko tō tāua taeake tērā ake | Here come our friends. | (subject marker) / (possession) / we two (inclusive) / friend or relative of the same generation (brother, sister, cousin either sex) speaking, but not in laws./ that (deictic)/ a little time (or distance)away
we two, us two (he/she and I)  | Ka ʻoki māua ko Taria ki te kāinga listenⓘ | Taria and I are going back home. | (unaccomplished asp.)/ return / we two (exclusive) / with / Taria/ (prep. goal)/ the / home
To tāua taeake tērā ake | Here come our friends. | (subject marker) / possession / we two (exclusive) / friend / that (deictic)/ a little time (or distance away)
Kōrua : you two  | ʻāe ! kua rongo kōrua i te nūti! | Hey! Have you heard the news? | hey (interj) / (perfect asp.) / hear / you two / (object marker) / the / news /
Na kōrua teia puka | This book belongs to you two. | (Possession) / you two / this (deictic) / book
Rāua : they, them (the two of them)  | Tuatua muna tēia, ka akakite ʻua atu au kia rāua | This is a confidential matter, I shall only tell it to those two. | speak, speech / secret / this / (unaccomplished asp.) / reveal (make known) / only / away (from the speaker)/ I / (prep. ki+a)towards (someone)/ they two
No ʻea mai rāua ? | Where have the two of them been? / What have they been doing? | from / (time and space interr.) / (indicating progression of time towards present) / they two
Plural pronoun examples  Pronoun | Cook Islands Maori | English | Word-to-word and gloss

|
|
|

Tātou : We, us (you -2 or more- and I)  | Koʻai tā tātou e tiaki nei | Who are we waiting for? | Who (subject marker+identity interr.) / (possession) / we, all of us (inclusive) / (progressive asp.) / wait for / here and now
Kāre ā tātou kai toe | We have no more food. | (Negation asp.) / (possession) / we, all of us (inclusive) / eat, food / remain, remaining, the rest
Mātou : we, us (they and I)  | Ko mātou ma Tere mā i ʻaere mai ei | We came with Tere and the others. | (subject marker)/ we (exclusive) / with, and / Tere / (part used only after persons meaning those in company with / (accomplisshed asp.) / go / (movement towards speaker) / (emphasis marks)
Kua kite mai koe ia mātou | You saw us. | (perfect asp.) / see(towards speaker) / you / at someone (i+a) / we (exclusive)
Kōtou : (all of you)  | E ʻaere atu kōtou, ka āru atu au | You go on, and I'll follow. | (imperative asp.)/ go / (away from the speaker) / you all / (unaccomplished asp.) / follow / go / (away from the speaker) / I
Ko kōtou koʻai mā i aere ei ki te tautai? listenⓘ | Who did you go fishing with? | (Subject marker) / you all / who (identity interr.) / in company with / (accomplished asp.) / go / (emphasis) / (goal/destination) / the / fishing
Rātou : they, them (more than two)  | Kua pekapeka rātou ko Tere | They and Tere have quarrelled. | (perfect asp.)/ trouble / they all / (subject marker)/ Tere
Nō rātou te pupu māroʻiroʻi | They have the strongest team. | (Possession) / they all / the / team (litt. group of people) / strong

### Tense-Aspect-Mood markers

[edit]

Marker  | Aspect  | Examples

|
|

Tē... nei | present continuous  |

Tē manako nei au i te ʻoki ki te ʻare : I am thinking of going back to the house
Tē kata nei rātou : They are laughing
Kāre au e tanu nei i te pia : I'm not planting any arrowroot

Kia | Mildly imperative or exhortatory, expressing a desire, a wish rather than a strong command.  |

Kia vave mai! : be quick ! (don't be long!)
Kia viviki mai! : be quick (don't dawdle!)
Kia manuia! : good luck!
Kia rave ana koe i tēnā ʻangaʻanga : would you do that job
Kia tae mai ki te angaʻanga ā te pōpongi Mōnitē : come to work on Monday morning
Teia te tātāpaka, kia kai koe : Here's the breadfruit pudding, eat up

e | Imperative, order  |

e ʻeke koe ki raro : you get down
e tū ki kō : stand over there

Auraka | interdiction, don't  |

Auraka rava koe e ʻāmiri i tēia niuniu ora, ka ʻutiʻutiʻia koe : don't on any account touch this live wire, you'll get a shock

kāre | indicate the negation, not, nothing, nowhere  |

Kāre nō te ua : It will not rain
Kāre a Tī tuatua : Tī doesn't have anything to say

e... ana | habitual action or state  |

E ʻaere ana koe ki te ʻura : Do you go to the dance?
E noʻo ana aia ki Nikao i tē reira tuātau : he used to live in Nikao at that time

Ka | Refers prospectively to the commencement of an action or state. Often translatable as the English future tense or "going to" construction  |

Ka imene a Mere ākonei ite pō : Mary is going to sing later on tonight
Kua kite au ē ka riri a Tere : I know (or knew) that Tere will (or would) be angry

Kua | translatable as the English simple past or present tense (with adjectives)  |

Kua kite mai koe ia mātou : You saw us
Kua meitaki koe ? : Are you better now?
Kua oti te tārekareka : the match is over now

Most of the preceding examples were taken from Cook Islands Maori Dictionary, by Jasper Buse with Raututi Taringa edited by Bruce Biggs and Rangi Moekaʻa, Auckland, 1995.

### Possessives

[edit]

Like most other Polynesian languages (Tahitian, New Zealand Māori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan ...), Cook Islands Māori has two categories of possessives, "a" and "o".

Generally, the "a" category is used when the possessor has or had control over the initiation of the possessive relationship. Usually this means that the possessor is superior or dominant to what is owned, or that the possession is considered as alienable. The "o" category is used when the possessor has or had no control over the initiation of the relationship. This usually means that the possessor is subordinate or inferior to what is owned, or that the possession is considered to be inalienable.

The following list indicates the types of things in the different categories:

* a is used in speaking of
* Movable property, instruments,
* Food and drink,
* Husband, wife, children, grandchildren, girlfriend, boyfriend,
* Animals and pets, (except for horses)
* People in an inferior position

Te puaka a tērā vaʻine : the pig belonging to that woman;
ā Tere tamariki : Tere's children;
Kāre ā Tupe mā ika inapō : Tupe and the rest didn't get any fish last night

Tāku; Tāʻau; Tāna; Tā tāua; Tā māua…. : my, mine; your, yours; his, her, hers, our ours…

Ko tāku vaʻine tēia : This is my wife;
Ko tāna tāne tērā : That's her husband;
Tā kotou ʻapinga : your possession(s);
Tā Tare ʻapinga : Tērā possession(s);

* o is used in speaking of
* Parts of anything
* Feelings
* Buildings and transport (including horses)
* Clothes
* Parents or other relatives (not husband, wife, children...)
* Superiors

Te ʻare o Tere : The house belonging to Tere;
ō Tere pare : Tere's hat;
Kāre ō Tina noʻo anga e noʻo ei : Tina hasn't got anywhere to sit;

Tōku; Tōʻou; Tōna; Tō tāua; Tō māua…: my, mine; your, yours; his, her, hers; our, ours …

Ko tōku ʻare tēia : This is my house;
I tōku manako, ka tika tāna : In my opinion, he'll be right;
Tēia tōku, tērā tōʻou : This is mine here, that's yours over there

## Vocabulary

[edit]

* Pia : Polynesian arrowroot
* Kata : laugh at; laughter;
* kata ʻāviri : ridicule, jeer, mock
* Tanu : to plant, cultivate land
* ʻangaʻanga : work, job
* Pōpongi : morning
* Tātāpaka : a kind of breadfruit pudding
* Tuātau : time, period, season;
* ē tuātau ʻua atu : forever
* ʻīmene : to sing, song
* Riri : be angry with (ki)
* Tārekareka : entertain, amuse, match, game, play game

## Dialectology

[edit]

Although most words of the various dialects of Cook Islands Māori are identical, there are some differences.

Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Mangaia | Ngāputoru | Manihiki | Tongareva | English

|
|
|
|
|
|

tuatua | ʻautara | taratara | araara | vananga | akaiti | speak, speech
ʻānau |  | ʻānau | ʻānau | fanau | hanau | family
kūmara | kūʻara | kūʻara | kūmara | kūmara | kumala | sweet potato
kāre | kāʻore, ʻāʻore | eʻi, ʻāore | ʻāita, kāre | kaua, kāre | kore | no, not
tātā | kiriti | tātā | tātā | tātā | tata | write
ʻura | koni | ʻura | ʻingo, oriori, ʻura | hupahupa | kosaki | dance
ʻakaipoipo | ʻakaipoipo | ʻāʻāipoipo | ʻakaipoipo | fakaipoipo | selenga | wedding
ʻīkoke | koroio | rakiki | tūngāngā | hikoke | mokisi | thin
ʻare | ʻare | ʻare | ʻare | fare | hare | house
maʻata | ʻatupaka | ngao | nui, nunui, ranuinui | kore reka | polia | big
matū, pete | ngenengene | pori | poripori | menemene | suesue | fat

## Demographics

[edit]

Place  | Cook Islands Māori-speaking population

|

Cook Islands | 13,620
New Zealand | 7,725
New South Wales | 1,612[5]
Queensland | 1,609[6]
Victoria | 1,468[7]
Western Australia | 308[8]
South Australia | 63[8]
Australian Capital Territory | 28[9]
Northern Territory | 21[10]
Tasmania | 10[11]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Rarotonga at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Tongareva (Penrhyn) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Rakahanga-Manihiki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. ^ "2013 Census ethnic group profiles". Retrieved 8 December 2017.
3. ^ Nicholas, Sally Akevai (2018). "Language Contexts: Te Reo Māori o te Pae Tonga o te Kuki Airani also known as Southern Cook Islands Māori". Language Documentation and Description. 15. London: EL Publishing: 36–37. Retrieved 5 August 2025. "This practice conflicts with that of community members, who use the name Rarotongan to specifically refer to the variety spoken in Rarotonga. Non-Rarotongan Cook Islands Māori speakers can be offended by this conflation... Therefore, the name "Rarotongan" should be only be used to refer to the Rarotongan variety and never to Cook Islands Māori as a whole."
4. ^ "Te Reo Maori Act 2003". Retrieved 2025-07-30 - via Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute.
5. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
6. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
7. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
8. ^ a b "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
9. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
10. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
11. ^ "Language spoken at home | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.

## Sources

[edit]

* Cook Islands Maori Database Project, an online project created to build a collection of Cook Islands Maori words based on existing print dictionaries and other sources
* Cook Islands Maori Dictionary, by Jasper Buse with Raututi Taringa, edited by Bruce Biggs and Rangi Moekaʻa, Auckland, 1995.
* A dictionary of the Maori Language of Rarotonga, Manuscript by Stephen Savage, Suva: IPS, USP in association with the Ministry of Education of the Cook Islands, 1983.
* Kai Korero: Cook Islands Maori Language Coursebook, Tai Carpentier and Clive Beaumont, Pasifika Press, 1995. (A useful learning method with oral skills cassette)
* Cook Islands Cook Book by Taiora Matenga-Smith. Published by the Institute of Pacific Studies.
* Maori Lessons for the Cook Islands, by Taira Rere. Wellington, Islands Educational Division, Department of Education, 1960.
* Conversational Maori, Rarotongan Language, by Taira Rere. Rarotonga, Government Printer. 1961.
* Some Maori Lessons, by Taira Rere. Rarotonga. Curriculum Production Unit, Department of Education. 1976.
* More Maori Lessons, by Taira Rere. Suva, University of the South Pacific.1976
* Maori Spelling: Notes for Teachers, by Taira Rere. Rarotonga: Curriculum Production Unit, Education Department.1977.
* Traditions and Some Words of the Language of Danger or Pukapuka Island. Journal of the Polynesian Society 13:173-176.1904.
* Collection of Articles on Rarotonga Language, by Jasper Buse. London: University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. 1963.
* Manihikian Traditional Narratives: In English and Manihikian: Stories of the Cook Islands (Na fakahiti o Manihiki). Papatoetoe, New Zealand: Te Ropu Kahurangi.1988
* Te korero o Aitutaki, na te Are Korero o Aitutaki, Ministry of Cultural Development, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. 1992
* Atiu nui Maruarua: E au tua taʻito, Vainerere Tangatapoto et al. University of South Pacific, Suva 1984. (in Maori and English)
* Learning Rarotonga Maori, by Makiʻuti Tongia, Ministry of Cultural Development, Rarotonga 1999.
* Te uri Reo Maori (translating in Maori), by Makiʻuti Tongia, Punanga o te reo. 1996.
* Atiu, e enua e tona iti tangata, te au tata tuatua Ngatupuna Kautai...(et al.), Suva, University of the South Pacific. 1993. (Maori translation of Atiu: an island Community)
* A vocabulary of the Mangaian language by Christian, F. W. 1924. Bernice P. Bishop Bulletin 2. Honolulu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
* E au tuatua taʻito no Manihiki, Kauraka Kauraka, IPS, USP, Suva. 1987.

## External links

[edit]

Cook Islands Māori test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

* Dictionary of Cook Islands Languages.
* Te akataka reo Rarotonga; or, Rarotongan and English grammar by the Rev Aaron Buzacott of the London Missionary Society, Rarotonga. 1854. Old grammar in English and Rarotongan
* "Tuatua mai!" Learn Cook Islands Maori
* SBS Cook Islands Maori Radio Program. Archived 2017-11-26 at the Wayback Machine Updated each week
* Cook Islands Biodiversity: Natural History Māori Dictionaries Archived 2011-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
* Cook Islands Ministry of Cultural Development Archived 2006-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
* Te Reo Māori Kūki ʻĀirani i roto i te Kurakarāma o Aotearoa (Cook Islands Maori in the New Zealand Curriculum) Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
* Collected songs and legends from the southern Cook Islands (c. 1883–1912) at the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
* Box of 324 index cards of plant and animal names archived with Kaipuleohone
* Paradisec has an open access collection of Cook Island Maori materials
* Materials on Cook Islands Maori are included in the open access [Arthur Capell] collection (AC1) held by Paradisec.

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Languages of the Realm of New Zealand

Major language|

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Indigenous languages|

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* New Zealand Māori
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|

Cook Islands|

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* Tokelauan

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Malayo-Polynesian|

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|

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