I linked to it yesterday, but this webpage has a handy short overview of the letters in the Māori alphabet.

Technically, there are 15 letters.

Vowels (5): a, e, i, o, u.

Consonants (8): h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w.

Diagraphs (2): ng, wh

Seems simple…

Setting aside any discussion about dialects, it doesn’t take long to realise that there are more than 15 sounds/letters to learn.

There’s the five macron-used vowels: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū.

And the two sounds for ‘t’ depending on the vowel that follows.

SO maybe it’s just me, but I reckon there’s more like 21 letters in the Māori alphabet.

Or at least, there’s (at least) 21 sounds in Te Reo Māori.

The Reo Project | Day 87

Welcome to my little corner of the internet.

I believe that place matters.

Our connection to whatever little corner of the planet we find ourselves in, or choose to place ourselves on, matters.

I'm relentlessly curious and continually learning.

My interests are scattered across topics including property, strategy, acoustics, psychology, theology, systems theory, quantum physics and leadership. I read, listen, watch, and learn about whatever grabs my attention in the moment.

This is a learning experiment.

I come here to try to make sense of something I’ve come across, by writing about it.

I’m immersing myself in a new language.

I’m learning to speak Te Reo Māori, the language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand and one of our official languages. After spending 2020 studying, I’m figuring out how to keep the journey going outside the classroom.

You’re welcome to follow along.