Finding Our Own Voice: New Zealand English In The Making

Description

Elizabeth Gordon discusses the devlopment and evolution of the New Zealand accent from the earliest days when children of the early settlers spoke with the dialects of their parents, through the remarkably short period of time to when people began to accuse children and others of speaking with an odious 'colonial twang'.
Various English dialects and Maori also contributed to the mix to produce a unique New Zealand voice.

First published 2008.

Author description

Elizabeth Gordon was born and brought up in Christchurch. She can claim a great-grandparent who came out on one of the first four ships in 1850, and two forebears who came to the West Coast goldfields in the 1860s. She has taught at the University of Canterbury since 1967, first in the English Department and later in the Department of Linguistics. Her great interest has always been New Zealand English, especially the New Zealand accent. She was a co-leader of the project on the Origins and Evolution of New Zealand English (ONZE) at the University of Canterbury. Now retired, she continues to carry out research into New Zealand English and writes a weekly column on language in the Christchurch Press.