When relocating to a new country, the desire to fit in is a common and natural human instinct. It's normal for one to feel the need to assimilate and become part of the community.
One way to achieve that is to sound local. You can start by familiarising yourself with how they pronounce the names of their local places.
While many names are pronounced based on their spelling, some sound quite different when spoken aloud. We may not be 100% accurate but the following versions are the closest to the most commonly used ones.
We hope our pronunciation guide of New Zealand place names will help you find a balance between integrating into the new culture and staying true to yourself.
Remuera: Re-moo-ear-a
Timaru: tee-mah-roo
Taupo: Toe-paw
Paraparaumu: Para-para-umoo
Ruapehu: Rua-pih-who
Tauranga: Toe-rung-a
Taihape: Tie-ha-peh
Akaroa: Ah-car-oh-a
Motueka: More-two-aye-car
Matamata: Mutter-mutter
Manukau: Mar-nook-oh
Te Aroha: Tay ah-row-ha
Oamaru: Oh-ar-ma-roo
Whangarei: Fha-nga-ray
Waipu: Why-poo
Whanganui: Wanga-nu-ee
Rotorua: Rotoe-ru-ah
Source: Instagram; Wikipedia; news.com.au
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How can I improve my pronunciation?
The single most important thing to focus on when it comes to spoken English is pronunciation. If you can’t say a word as it’s commonly expressed in English, people will struggle to understand you – no matter how strong your comprehension of the language may be.
Why is pronunciation so tricky in spoken English? Well, because vowel sounds aren’t consistent. The letter ‘a’, for instance, can be pronounced nine different ways in English. Sometimes a vowel’s pronunciation is affected by its placement within a word or the letters it’s surrounded by, but other times, there’s no grammatical reasoning.
When these pronunciation changes happen in other languages, like Spanish, they are made obvious with the use of accents – such as ‘á’. In English, you just have to memorise them.
Begin by breaking words down into their parts to practice individual vowel sounds. Then, move onto words and full sentences. The more you read, listen and speak, the faster you’ll learn. Eventually, pronunciation will become instinctive.
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