| Moriori | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | New Zealand |
| Region | Polynesia |
| Native speakers | unknown (date missing) |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Latin |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Linguist List | mri-mor |
Moriori is an extinct[1] Malayo-Polynesian language most closely related to New Zealand Māori. It is the native language of the Moriori, the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu in Moriori), which are east of New Zealand and under its sovereignty.
The invasion from Taranaki had a heavy impact on Moriori population, culture and language, with only 101 Moriori remaining in 1862,[2] and few speaking the language by the 1870s.[3] However, Samuel Deighton, Resident Magistrate on the Chathams from 1873 to 1891, compiled a short vocabulary of Moriori words, with their equivalents in Māori and English. The vocabulary was published as an appendix of Michael King's Moriori: A People Rediscovered.
The language was reconstructed for Barry Barclay's 2000 film documentary The Feathers of Peace,[4] in a recreation of Moriori contact with Pākehā and Māori.
In 2001, as part of a cultural revival movement, Moriori people began attempts to revive the language, and compiled a database of Moriori words.[5]
The 2006 New Zealand Census showed 945 people choosing to include "Moriori" amongst their tribal affiliations, compared to 35 people in the 1901 census.[6]