New Zealand Accent in contrast to RP (ePub)

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,5 (B), Bielefeld University (Anglistics Institute), language: English, abstract: I chose to write a term paper on the New Zealand accent because I
plan to travel around the country in the near future. Therefore it is very
interesting for me to know a little bit more about the variety which is spoken
there. While I was reading different books, I learned that New Zealand
English is, on the one hand, a variety which is spoken all over the country
without any regional dialects, but on the same time, there might be a
vernacular that is spoken by the Maoris, the original inhabitants of New
Zealand.
As I would like to get to know the country and its people as well, I
think it would be best to look at both varieties. In this way, I hope to get a
general overview of the situation, for the Maoris are a minority in New
Zealand and their language is in danger of dying out. But as is nearly always
the case when one language is replaced by a second, as was Maori by
English, they will be influenced by each other. Therefore it is my concern to
work out some differences between New Zealand English (NZE) and the
English used by the Maoris (Maori Vernacular English (MVE)).
To have a basis on which I can present these possible findings, I
want to compare the New Zealand accent to RP, which I know best.
The structure of the term paper will be divided into three parts. The first part
will give a general overview of the origin of the New Zealand accent. The
second part will concentrate on the New Zealand accent in comparison to
RP.The focus here will be on the three short front vowels and two
diphthongs which make the New Zealand accent distinctive from other
varieties. The third part will give a short overview of the situation of the
Maori language and will show similarities to and differences from the
general New Zealand accent. In addition, a case study will be looked at to
underline distinctive features.