A linguistic view on macrons

Many media outlets have embraced the use of macrons on Te reo Māori words, which I for one think is awesome to see.

I hope to encourage people that, regardless of your personal views, the humble macron is not to be feared.

A common belief is that it only elongates the vowel sound used in a Māori word, but in doing so, the macron can change the entire meaning of the word.

One of the many examples is the word ‘kaka'. Without a macron, it means the stalk of a plant, fibre or dress, but kakā means inflamed and kākā is a large native parrot.

It also pluralises some words – wahine means woman, whereas wāhine means women and tupuna means ancestor and tūpuna means ancestors.

Using macrons doesn't mean ‘big media' are forcing their readers into anything, it just means they are committing to one of the most important fundamentals of being in this industry: accuracy.

Christopher Douglas, Papamoa.