David Kārena-Holmes is a published author living in Dunedin

COLUMN: At the present time, with horrific conflict turning the region known as “the Promised Land” or “the Holy Land” into something more like “Hell on Earth”, we might wish more than ever to promote the Christmas message of “Peace on Earth and goodwill to all people”.

This message is found in te reo Māori in virtually word-for-word translation: He maungarongo (“peace”) / ki te whenua (“to the Earth”); / he whakaaro pai (“thoughts good”) / ki ngā tāngata katoa. (“to the people all”).

Parts of the Bible were among the first works in te reo to appear in print, and the books were in great demand among Maori, who eagerly embraced the printed form of their own language. At some stage in the early 19th century it was estimated that a higher proportion of the Māori population were literate readers than was the case with colonising settlers.

A great number of Māori also embraced the message of the gospels, and several churches were established in which services were, and still are, conducted in te reo. The above passage – He maungarongo, / ki te whenua; / he whakaaro pai / ki ngā tāngata katoa. – is wonderfully modulated, using exclusively genuine Māori words.

Translation of the Bible, however, did introduce a considerable number of “transliterations” into te reo.

Transliteration means attempted representation of the sounds of one language through the sounds available in another.

Such words as Īhu Karāiti (“Jesus Christ”) korōria (“glory”) are examples. The expression “Meri Kirihimete”, though not quite “biblical”, is an obvious transliteration of the English “Merry Christmas”.

The word “Christmas” is composed of two syllables (“Christ-mas”) but (since there is no “s” in the Māori alphabet, and, apart from the digraphs “ng” and “wh”, only single consonants are used, with every syllable ending in a vowel-sound) five syllables – Ki-ri-hi-me-te – are required to transliterate the English word. There is no sound in te reo similar to the “a” in the word “Christmas”.

The pure vowel sound “e” (as in the English “bet”) is merely the closest approximation.

A great many transliterations, mainly from English, are now widely used in te reo, but it would seem undoubtedly true that original, genuine Māori words remain the heart of the language.

Today’s column, then, is ended with quoting a short, heart-felt waiata, composed entirely in genuine Māori, and introducing another beautiful word – rangimārie – for “peace”. It’s frequently sung by children: Te aroha / te whakapono / te rangimārie / tātou, / tātou, e. (“Love / faith / peace / everyone / everyone.”)