Maori
Maori (Maaori) is the aboriginal language of New Zealand, and is
spoken today by around one hundred thousand people. It is considered to be a
member of the Eastern group of the Austronesian language family. Until the
20th century spoken throughout New Zealand. Formerly fragmented into a number of
regional dialects, some of which diverged quite radically from what has become
the standard dialect. The Moriori dialect in the Chatham Islands is extinct.
Most or all speakers are bilingual in English.
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