Maori Language Week: 14-20 September 2020

Lindsay Upton from Manukau East Council of Social Services (MECOSS)

Every year Te Wiki o te Reo Māori or Māori Language Week provides a great chance for New Zealanders to expand their knowledge and use of Te Reo in everyday life.
A key element of Te Reo in written form is macaron use. Macrons, the horizontal lines above certain vowels to indicate emphasis, can completely change the meaning of a word or sentence.
Luckily it turns out there is an easy way to install the Māori dictionary on your computer and then with a couple of quick keyboard shortcuts, macron use is a breeze.

Just use the following easy steps outlined below:

Māori keyboard and language for Windows
• In Windows 7, 8 and 10, most computers should include the Māori language update. In order to use Māori macrons in Windows, do the following:
• Click the Language Bar in the bottom right of the screen near the clock, then choose 'Language Preferences'
• Click 'Add a language' under the heading 'Preferred Languages'
• Choose 'Te Reo Māori' from the list, and click 'install
• The language for your keyboard will now be set to the New Zealand English and Māori dictionary - just make sure it now says 'MRI' next to the clock
• To create macrons easily, you can hold the ` key (normally the one left of the 1 key) and press the appropriate letter to place the macron (ie: ` and a will give you ā)
• Use the Shift key in the middle of the sequence to make the letter a capital

Māori language and keyboard for Mac
• Click on the Apple logo in the top left and choose 'System Preferences'
• Click 'Language & Region', then choose 'Keyboard Preferences'
• Click the + icon and find Māori in the list
• Optionally, tick Show input menu in menu bar
• To type a macronised vowel on a Mac, you simply hold down Alt / Option and then the vowel. You can also do this in conjunction with the Shift key to type an uppercase vowel.