English-Māori Dictionary—H. M. Ngata (1993)
The H. M. Ngata English-Māori Dictionary is the culmination of years of dedicated research, it explains and exemplifies usage as well as meaning, fulfilling H. M. Ngata’s original vision to provide a clear, simple and powerful guide for a bilingual Aotearoa.
Publication details
Ngata, H. M., English-Māori Dictionary Wellington, Learning Media, 1993.
About the book
Author, Hori M. Ngata (1919-1989; Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri; Rongomaiwahine, Te Aitanga ā Mahaki) was the eldest grandson of Sir Apirana Ngata and as his grandfather had done before him, H. M. Ngata focussed his energies on the richness of te reo Māori.
H. M. Ngata identified a need for a dictionary that illustrated the usage of Māori rather than simply definitions or equivalents in English and Māori. He employed a system of headwords in English and Māori with sentences to illustrate usage. Material was selected from a wide range of sources, including Acts of Parliament, deeds from the Māori Land Court, quotations from the volumes of Nga Moteatea, from the Bible and from noted Māori orators. He also had access to material written in both English and Māori by his grandfather.
Unfortunately, H. M. Ngata passed away in 1989, leaving his unfinished life work to his son, Whai Ngata to complete. The book was eventually published in 1993.
An important aim of the dictionary was to assist learners of the Māori language and particularly to encourage students in the classroom and to demonstrate and reinforce the ability of te reo Māori to express as wide a range of contemporary usage and ideas. It explains and exemplifies usage as well as meaning, fulfilling H. M. Ngata’s original vision to provide a clear, simple and powerful guide for a bilingual Aotearoa.
Further information
This publication is part of the series Te Takarangi: Celebrating Māori publications - a sample list of 150 non-fiction books produced by a partnership between Royal Society Te Apārangi and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga.