e-book gives access to nearly 500 biographies in te reo

Media Release

Manatū Taonga/Ministry for Culture and Heritage

8 July 2011

Māori e-book gives access to nearly 500 biographies in te reo

Basil Keane, Director of Māori Digital Projects at Manatū Taonga/Ministry for Culture and Heritage has compiled nearly 500 biographies profiling significant figures in Māoridom into a te reo Māori e-book, Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau, 1869-1960, to celebrate Māori language week.

Each short biography outlines the birth, death and achievements of a range of Māori figures from Hongi Hika, Sir Apirana Ngata, and Dame Whina Cooper.

The biographies were written for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – part of New Zealand’s online encyclopedia – Te Ara, and have been translated by some of the country’s top linguists says Basil Keane, “For a reader of Māori the content is a joy to read due to the excellence of the translators involved. Some of the translators involved include Tairongo Amoamo, Te Pōroa Malcolm, Pou Temara, Merimeri Penfold, Wiremu Kaa, and Rangi McGarvey.”

The first volume of Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau was published in 1990 to celebrate the 150th centennial of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Five volumes of Māori language biographies were published in total with the final publication being in 2000.

The new e-book book contains the Māori language biographies from all published volumes to date which is downloadable from the Manatū Taonga website in an open format and is compatible for Kindle users.

To download the book free, visit the Manatū Taonga website:
http://www.mch.govt.nz/news-events/news/ng%C4%81-t%C4%81ngata-taumata-rau-1869-1960

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