teaches correct pronunciation of Māori and Pasifika names
Ten high school students from Porirua are hoping a new website they've made will help teach people how to pronounce Māori and Pasifika names correctly.
Fa'amalosi - which means 'be strong' in Samoan - has been up and running for less than a month but already features more than 800 names in half a dozen languages and has around 650 subscribers.
Fa'amalosi's co-chief executives, 16-year-olds To'e Lokeni and Mannfred Sofara, say the group of Bishop Viard College students was inspired to start the company after realising that having their names mispronounced was a common problem for Māori and Pasifika students.
To'e, who is named after his mother's father, says it's not only frustrating but also feelsdisrespectful.
"I kind of feel embarrassed and insecure sometimes," he says.
Link to article and video: Change Makers - High school students' website teaches correct pronunciation of Māori and Pasifika names | Newshub
