Publisher Description

One of the country’s three official languages, New Zealand Sign Language evolved in the communities that grew from networks of Deaf children at three schools for the Deaf from the late nineteenth century. The Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language (1997) – now an invaluable online resource at nzsl.vuw.ac.nz – and the Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language (BWB, 2003) were landmarks in documenting the language. A formidable body of scholarly research lies in these volumes, driven by the Deaf Studies Research Unit at Victoria University, led first by Graeme Kennedy and later by David and Rachel McKee. Today, NZSL forms part of the curriculum in intermediate schools, and New Zealanders are increasingly familiar with the language. Drawing on her experience of both teaching and researching NZSL, Rachel McKee has developed A Reference Grammar to support all those who are learning NZSL – students, families and friends of Deaf people, school teachers, public officials. This clear account of language structure and use is illustrated with dozens of videos, drawings and photographs.

New Zealand English - at just 150 years old - is one of the newest varieties of English, and is unique in that its full history and development are documented in extensive audio-recordings. The rich corpus of spoken language provided by New Zealand's 'mobile disk unit' has provided insight into how the earliest New Zealand-born settlers spoke, and consequently, how this new variety of English developed. On the basis of these recordings, this book examines and analyses the extensive linguistic changes New Zealand English has undergone since it was first spoken in the 1850s. The authors, all experts in phonetics and sociolinguistics, use the data to test previous explanations for new dialect formation, and to challenge current claims about the nature of language change. The first ever corpus-based study of the evolution of New Zealand English, this book will be welcomed by all those interested in phonetics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics and dialectology.

See link to http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-KenGramm.html.

Over 26,000 New Zealanders are familiar with New Zealand Sign Language and sign language is increasingly used by mainstream New Zealand. This resource serves as the essential guide to the language for the deaf as well as for students, parents, and teachers. Approximately 2,500 commonly used signs are accompanied by drawings that are easy to follow and the guide's new layout makes the structure of the language clear. Additional learning tools are provided in the introduction.