The Southland R is spreading, Kiwis sound more Australian

Saturday, 7 July 2018

Researchers have found the Southland rolling of the Rs is spreading.

The Southland R is taking over the country.

And it gets worse – Kiwis are starting to sound more Australian.

University experts looking into the way Kiwis speak are finding interesting changes in New Zealand English and new dialects emerging.

Victoria University's professor of linguistics Miriam Meyerhoff studied the effect migration patterns were having on the way people speak in three Auckland communities Titirangi, South Auckland and Mount Roskill.

* $530,000 to investigate why Southlanders roll their Rs**

People in South Auckland were using the rhotic R, similar to Southland.

'The rhotic R was heard systematically in Mount Roskill in a very mixed community. Particularly in words like bird, work, nurse in younger speakers, in their 20s. It's clear in South Auckland. The perception is that it's Samoan and Tongans who do it more,' she said.

Radio and Television presenter, Mike Puru, pictured with a trrraditional Southland cheese rrroll, courtesy of Orphan's Kitchen.

The Southland R is now heard all over New Zealand.

'It's all over the country now. It's absolutely unremarkable. Young kids in Karori preschools are doing it. We began studying it about 10 years ago and we've looked for it in Palmerston North, Hawkes Bay and found it in all those places,' Meyerhoff said.

Director of the New Zealand Institute of language, brain and behaviour Jen Hay is one of three researchers studying the Southland accent with a $530,000 Marsden Fund grant.

It wasn't just the rolling 'R's, that made Southland unique, there was also differences in vowel pronunciation, she said. Southlanders also did not put an r on the end of words like banana, like other New Zealanders.

She said the accent probably stems from Scottish migration, and was seen in other parts of New Zealand in the late 1800s.

It had mostly gone away but began to re-emerge in the 1990s among young Southland women, mostly in words like hurt and work.

'It was possibly a resurgence of Southland pride. It's a Southland identity thing.' she said.

Meyerhoff said New Zealanders were beginning to sound a lot more Australian.

Former Gloriavale man John Ready said since he had left the community people ask him if he is Australian.

'I don't notice it myself but I've been told we have a different accent which seems to sound more Australian. Hopeful was Australian and we had to listen to him the most so it must have affected the way people speak,' he said.

A distinctive dialect has emerged in the community.

Meyerhoff said a couple of her students had looked into the Gloriavale accent from the documentaries, but unedited recordings would need to be studied.

They had noticed they pronounced the R and vowels differently and had patterns of dropping H. They also used syntax similar to Scottish English, for example 'the clothes needs washed'.

'The community has been relatively isolated for 50 years which is enough time for a dialect to develop. Originally the community started with people coming from all over New Zealand and Australia so you would expect a levelling dialect which is different to the rest of New Zealand to develop in 50 years,' she said.

How Mike Puru's Southland R got him on the telly

Broadcaster Mike Puru says it was his Southland R that 'first got me on the the telly'.

As a young boy growing in Gore, Puru phoned childrens' show Yahoo to request a Janet Jackson track.

When his accent got the attention of hosts Robert Scott and Moana Jackson, it was his time to shine.

'Robert Scott made me say 'I'm off to work in Gore in the colour purple' to make him laugh,' said Puru.

'So really that was my first appearance on TV.'

Puru, who grew up in Gore but now calls Auckland home, has often heard the rolling R outside of the Southland border.

'I've noticed it a lot around Auckland actually, but when I ask if they're from Southland they never are.

'Growing up I always thought we we rolled our Rs because we said Gore all the time, but then I realised it was a Scottish thing.'

Broadcaster Mike Puru credits his accent for helping get him into the television scene.

It used to be a good way to recognise someone from Southland, he said.

Puru said he had mixed feelings about the rest New Zealand adopting his 'hometown mating call'.

'I'd like to Southland to maintain ownership of it.'