Maori words to be included in cell phone dictionary

Photo / Nikki Williams

"Aotearoa", "kia ora" and "whanau" are among the new additions to a mobile phone text dictionary.

In what is being hailed a New Zealand-first, Telecom will include common te reo Maori words in the dictionary for the predictive text message function on two new phones.

As well as common greetings, the words include days of the week, months of the year, the numbers one to ten, and popular New Zealand place names.

"The initial list is at 100 words, and our goal is to make it bigger," Telecom spokeswoman Rebecca Earl told NZPA.

"This is a sort of test run and then we'd love to know how people find it. People can feel free to send us suggestions on words that they think we might have missed."

The list of words was created with help from the Maori Language Commission which indicated what words might be most commonly used in text messages, Ms Earl said.

Chief executive Huhana Rokx said the commission had been delighted to support Telecom with the service.

"This initiative ensures that te reo Maori remains a valid form of texting discourse," Ms Rokx said.

"Our young people who are growing up as bilingual Maori language speakers are also active mobile users and expect the same immediate service that predictive texting offers in the English language."

The devices capable of te reo Maori predictive text messaging will include two Telecom-branded handsets and the Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch, with more devices to be added with the feature after launch.

The two handsets would also feature spoken voice dialling in Maori, Chinese and English - where the handset would say aloud the numbers from 0-9 when pressed.

- NZPA