In New Zealand, a Translated ‘Moana’ Bolsters an Indigenous Language
- 7 years ago
In New Zealand, a Translated ‘Moana’ Bolsters an Indigenous Language
19, 2017
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The families lined up at the theater above a shopping mall here in New Zealand’s biggest city
and filed past posters for Stephen King’s "It" and "Captain Underpants" for a film unlike any they had ever seen — the Disney hit "Moana," translated into the indigenous language of New Zealand.
Rachel House, a New Zealand actor who voiced the character of Gramma Tala in both the English
and Maori versions of the film — and who was also the performance director of the Maori production — said she had been blown away by the response to the film, and the 30 theaters that screened it for free.
Mr. Piripi, 60, the former head of New Zealand’s Maori Language Commission, said the loss of native language
and culture began in earnest after the British missionary Samuel Marsden began preaching Christianity in New Zealand in 1814.
Katarina Edmonds, a senior lecturer in Maori education at the University of Auckland, and one of three people who translated the film, said the team worked not only to find the exact equivalents of words in the Disney script,
but also to remain true to the Maori language and tikanga, or cultural values.
Maori and Pacific Island people in New Zealand now face worse social, economic,
and health outcomes than Pakeha, or New Zealanders of European descent.
19, 2017
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The families lined up at the theater above a shopping mall here in New Zealand’s biggest city
and filed past posters for Stephen King’s "It" and "Captain Underpants" for a film unlike any they had ever seen — the Disney hit "Moana," translated into the indigenous language of New Zealand.
Rachel House, a New Zealand actor who voiced the character of Gramma Tala in both the English
and Maori versions of the film — and who was also the performance director of the Maori production — said she had been blown away by the response to the film, and the 30 theaters that screened it for free.
Mr. Piripi, 60, the former head of New Zealand’s Maori Language Commission, said the loss of native language
and culture began in earnest after the British missionary Samuel Marsden began preaching Christianity in New Zealand in 1814.
Katarina Edmonds, a senior lecturer in Maori education at the University of Auckland, and one of three people who translated the film, said the team worked not only to find the exact equivalents of words in the Disney script,
but also to remain true to the Maori language and tikanga, or cultural values.
Maori and Pacific Island people in New Zealand now face worse social, economic,
and health outcomes than Pakeha, or New Zealanders of European descent.