Isolation imposed time lag continues as New Zealand characteristic

The delivery of the earthquake struck coastal township of Kaikoura with the second syllable pronounced as in “cow” has become the signal shibboleth or password designed to reveal the utterer, and the organisation that employs them, as being politically correct.

Kai- COW – ra has now replaced as the dominant pc call sign the previous place-name pronunciation which was KIDDY –KIDDY for the far northern township of Kerikeri.

Both these hallmark pronunciations had their genesis in New Zealand’s government broadcasting operation.

This was in spite of the state broadcasting corporation’s late doyen of the Maori language Bill Kerikeri always pronouncing his own name with the two rs firmly sounded.

The continuing trend for New Zealand official commentators – broadcasters to dolly up the delivery of longstanding Maori names continues to demonstrate the way in which the fashionable delivery of targeted place names especially remains such an encoded hallmark of modish conformity.

Other Maori-derivation place names continue to be pronounced with the kou syllable pronounced in the traditional way as coo.

Some officials continue to go counter-stream meanwhile. For example the ubiquitous cabinet member Steven Joyce MP continues to use the koo rendition of Kaikoura.

The flourishing of the state-broadcasting engendered movement to put a smooth modernist emollient spin on strong Maori word pronunciation is another indicator that New Zealand remains in its customary time-lag in regard to international societal trends.

This in turn continues to support the belief that communications globalisation is no substitute for geographical isolation, the tyranny of distance.

Another indicator of this was the broadcasting use of the term happy festivity as a substitute for happy christmas thus sidestepping the invocation of any christianity.

Meanwhile in order of frequency of usage these were the other modish substitutes that have become standardised in the government broadcasting system.

Conversation         DiscussionBirthing                  Maternity...(nothing to do with ships)Choices                   Decisions/options/ alternativesEarly childhood    KindergartenFamily                    now refers to staff/employees/ previously “team”Interventions        Social welfare involvementIssues                     ProblemsParenting               this gerund replaces the old “bringing up” of children (“raising” in the US)Procedure              Surgical operationResilient                SustainableSecurity                 Supply of something, as in food “security.”Wellness               HealthFishers                  FishermenMedical event      Usuallly refers to coronary or stroke

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