English is the common language spoken by the locals in New Zealand, and Maori also became an official language in 1987. New Zealand English is incredibly similar to that of Australia. The obvious differences are in the pronunciation of the language, but considering that many people from the northern hemisphere can’t differentiate the accents of Australians and Kiwis, the differences can’t be too great? Of course, many would disagree! Ask a Kiwi to say "six" and "fish and chips".
Many New Zealand slang words and phrases are also common to Australia and Great Britain. A common word used by New Zealanders is “eh” pronounced as the letter “a”, and is used at the end of sentences when expecting a response to a statement. This is similar to our Canadian friends’ way of saying “don’t you think?”
Another oddity is the word “tramping” which may conjure up strange thoughts, but simply means hiking or bush-walking. Jandals are thongs or flip-flops, and a bach is a holiday home. The dairy is a small shop that sells dairy products and other incidentals; in other words a milk bar. A “chilli bin” is an Esky. A lift operator is called a “liftie” in NZ – they might get offended if you call them a “towie”. Favourite phrases for young Kiwis are “sweet as” and “choice eh?”, and you’ll see plenty of souvenir t-shirts with these words emblazoned across the front of them.
Many Maori words have been absorbed into everyday use and are commonly used in conversation. Many place names are Maori in origin, and considering they don’t have 26 letters in their alphabet, it seems to result in many of the names becoming tongue-twisters. One example is “Whakarewarewa” which is made trickier to pronounce as “Wh” is pronounced “F”.