I think there's 21 letters in the Māori alphabet

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

The macrons matter, use them.

Firstly, I’m not talking about macaroons. Or macarons for that matter.

I’m talking about macrons. The flat “hats” that you see about vowels from time to time.

ā, ē, ī, ō and ū.

They also show up as capitals.

Ā, Ē, Ī, Ō and Ū.

For a language with only fifteen different letters, having being able to double the number of vowels makes a big difference.

Here’s a good guide on how to literally use them

And if you’re new to this, here’s a webpage with audio samples for you to compare the normal vowels with the macron-used versions.

Ngā mihi nui.

Te Reo Project | Day 86