New Zealand English is the variety of English spoken and written by most New Zealanders, and the first language of the majority of the population. It developed among colonial settlers during the nineteenth century and is counted among the newest native-speaker varieties of English, having become distinctive only over the last 150 years. The 2013 census recorded roughly 3.8 million native speakers in New Zealand, alongside an estimated 150,000 second-language speakers as of 2003.
Facts
RegionSpoken and written by most New Zealanders; English is the first language of the majority of the population of New Zealand. 1 Speaker CommunityDeveloped from 19th-century British colonists, most heavily influenced by Australian English (itself derived from southeastern England English) with considerable Scottish and Hiberno-English influence; an important source of vocabulary is the Maori language of New Zealand's indigenous people. 1 Distinguishing FeaturesNon-rhotic New Zealand English is most similar to Australian English in pronunciation, but a prominent difference is the realisation of the KIT vowel, which in New Zealand English is pronounced as a schwa. 1 Classification
Variety Kind Connections
Descends From
Source Wikipedia: New Zealand English
Is A Kind Of Variety
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Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: New Zealand English
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
A prominent difference is the realisation of /ɪ/ (the KIT vowel): in New Zealand English this is pronounced as a schwa.
Lead section
New Zealand English (NZE) is the variant of the English language spoken and written by most New Zealanders.
Descends From: English, Lead sentence
New Zealand English (NZE) is the variant of the English language spoken and written by mos
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