A classroom of students at Ōmokoroa Point SchooI is campaigning to get the area of the place they live spelt correctly with a macron above the first letter of Ōmokoroa.
Room 10 at OPS stumbled upon the incorrect spelling when writing ‘thank you' letters and has turned to campaigning for Omokoroa to be spelt correctly – with a macron – by their community.
'We found this issue at the start of Term 2… now we're trying to make all signs around our community change to have a macron over the first O in Omokoroa,” says Room 10 student Leila Cook.
'Most places we've looked at don't have the macron,” says fellow classmate George Palade. 'If we don't put the macron on Ōmokoroa it could change the entire meaning of the place and it could be offensive! If this issue remains unchecked for too long future generations could forget the macron and the entire Ōmokoroa would have changed forever!”
Significant
Teacher Deirdre Duggan approached Maori language specialist, Whaea Terania Ormsby-Teki at Maungatapu School, who says all places in New Zealand with a capital O with a macron have significant meaning.
'Either somebody lived there that was significant; or something like a war, death or event, happened there that was significant,” says Deirdre.
Room 10 student Maia Groucott says many words in te reo Maori have macrons because they mean different things without one. 'Wētā with a macron means ‘insect'; without the macron weta means ‘poo'. Keke means ‘cake'; if you add a macron to the last ‘e' then kekē means ‘armpit'.”
The class contacted the Pirirakau hapū, with Koro Nicolas responding. 'We've had a korero with some of our people from Pirirakau and we're still working on our narrative for Ōmokoroa.
'In time we'll put together resources to help with understanding the rohe but for now what we've seen on the Facebook page [the students' campaign] is great!
'All names have whakapapa and the whakapapa should be respected. Names of places, people and events are never given frivolously.”
History lost
Deirdre says many stories exist of where the name ‘Ōmokoroa' came from. 'Some say we're named after a lizard, some say a huhu grub – the actual history of where the name came from has been lost over time. Regardless, to pronounce the name correctly – it needs a macron.”
The class has also contacted Western Bay of Plenty District Council to request it change street signs to include a macron. The class has been invited to present their project to the council on July 26.
Asked why the project is so important, Willow Grant responded: 'Because people don't pronounce it right and it is respectful to pronounce it right and spell it right.”
Anna says her school's 2022 focus is ‘kia tika', which means doing the right thing – 'that's why we think this is important”.
Sune` Steenberg, who has a mark above her first name to pronounce a short vowel, says if Ōmokoroa doesn't have macron it might be rude – 'like if people spelt my name without a mark above it”.
George also wants to inspire other schools 'to do the right thing if they have problem with their name”.
Principal Sandra Portegys says OPS has used a macron for Ōmokoroa in the last few years. 'We've added a macron to website, Facebook page, newsletter – but we still have some signage to change in our school as well.”