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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Wellington

New Zealand finally gets a Google Maps tool that correctly pronounces Māori placenames

Google Google Maps New Zealand
maori flag
Google has launched feature that will see a New Zealand-accented voice added to its map tool that can correctly pronounce Māori words. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

For years, Māori placenames have been distorted into nearly unrecognisable sounds by Google Maps in New Zealand. For those with attuned ears, it can be grating or offensive.

Now the Māori language commission – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – has collaborated with Google to fix it, launching a New Zealand-accented voice for its navigation tool that can correctly pronounce Māori words. It is the culmination of a project that has been years in the making.

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