What are macrons and why are they so important?
Te reo Māori is a beautiful language - but if you're dropping those little lines from above the vowels it's possible you're butchering it - and you could even be dropping a swear word accidentally.
Some companies have been called out for leaving out their macrons - most recently Weta Workshop.
The company is supposed to be named after Aotearoa's native insect -it should be Wētā - but because it is missing the macrons above 'e' and 'a' - it actually means 'shit'.
Other examples of missing are keke, which means cake - but with it's macrons (kēkē) it's armpit. Or tāra, meaning dollar and tara - which means vagina.
Hēmi Kelly, a Māori lecturer and author says everyone is learning - and that's great.
"We're all learning together," he told The Project on Thursday.
Link to article and video: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/09/te-wiki-o-te-reo-m-ori-what-are-macrons-and-why-are-they-so-important.html
