'It's not about being PC it's just about being respectful' - brands can suffer due to lack of basic pronunciation, says marketing lecturer

April 27, 2018

Dave Ward has made a stand, prompting NZME to investigate how the instruction was given.

Brands can suffer if they don't get basic pronouncaiation right, says an Auckland University marketing lecturer, following a number of incidents this week regarding the pronounciation of Maori words. 

Radio ad man Dave Ward turned down a job for the first time in 18 years after being asked to pronounce a Maori place name 'the white way.'

Mr Ward posted on Twitter the pronounciation guide he was given for a job where he was asked to pronounce "Waimate - said the 'white way' - 'WHY MAT EE.'  

NZME's group director entertainment Dean Buchanan says it's upsetting when things fall through the cracks.

"Our view is that there is a growing momentum for Maori language in New Zealand and getting te reo pronounced correctly," Mr Buchanan says.

NZME are investigating how the instruction was issued given it's working on its te reo policy.

The media company are injecting more Maori into radio bulletins and celebrating the right pronounciation of Radio Hauraki after 50 years of it being wrong.  

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was criticised earlier this week for not attempting to a Maori player's name. 

"It's a lot easier to say triple-T," Mr Hansen said about Chiefs halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.

Auckland University's Mike Lee says, "They can't really get away with the stuff they did even from a decade ago and it's not about being PC it's just about being respectful."

SHARE ME

More Stories