Kupu is a maori language education app by Spark.
Video / Spark
Have you ever wondered what your name would be in te reo Māori?
Māori translation app Kupu has launched a new web feature that allows users to see what their English name translates to, as a way to engage more people with the language.
The tool, Kupu My Name, went live in time for Te Wiki o te reo Māori.
Kupu is an image translating app which allows users to take a photo of an object, and then be provided with the Māori word for the object.
It has been downloaded more than 332,000 times, translated over 3.6 million images and has provided users with more than 7.4 million audio plays since it was launched by Spark in 2018.
"There's a huge appetite for digital tools to learn te reo Māori," Spark spokesman Anaru Tuhi said.
"Kupu My Name is part of our wider campaign around Kupu," Tuhi said.
"Kupu My Name is a web-based tool that translates names into te reo Māori. With both apps we work with our partner Te Aka Māori Dictionary who bring with them a pool of invaluable knowledge."
Auckland University of Technology's Dr Dean Mahuta took on the big job of translating thousands of names for the tool.
"The process to translate the names was quite an arduous task, merely because of the sheer numbers of names that needed to be translated," he told the Herald.
"Over many years, common English names have been translated - for example, the main translation for the name John is Hone."
The translation of English names into Māori follows the method of "transliteration".
"That is the Māori name will 'borrow' from the English sounds, hence the term that is sometimes used for transliterations, borrowed or loan words. Many of the examples that I used as a guiding post for how I translated names were taken from those names that have long been translated, such as John, or even Simon (Haimona).
"The best source for the translation of English names are the Māori language newspapers that ran between 1842 and 1933."
Mahuta said he used the newspapers as a guide and developed his own "fun approach" to translating the rest of the names.
"I approach this particular project with a fun and playful attitude, as a way to engage with as many people as possible."
There were a few "interesting moments" when he received requests for name translations that involved unusual spellings - for example Daizy or Dayzee instead of Daisy.
In those situations they all shared the same translation, Teihi.
The most important part of the job was ensuring it was as accurate as possible, with the right cultural guidance and engagement, he said.
The tool provided a "really simple way to engage with the language".
Tuhi said Kupu was Spark's "gift to Aotearoa to support the revitalisation of our greatest taonga - te reo Māori".
He said the app showed how digital platforms could "play a meaningful role in te ao Māori".
"For Kupu My Name there is huge engagement. In only the last three days 732,047 names have been translated and 69,797 requests for names have been submitted for a translation.
"As a New Zealand company, te reo Māori holds a special place for us at Spark and we encourage people to give te reo Māori a go in general.
"Ahakoa nō hea, ahakoa te taumata reo, kai a koe te mana. No matter where you are from, or how well you can speak, you have the power - kia kaha te reo Māori."
