How do you pronounce Paraparaumu?
Hi Neighbourly folk, Kāpiti resident Gaynor Bradbury has written to the Kāpiti Observer calling for a debate on the pronunciation of Paraparaumu.
Here is what she had to say.
"Kāpiti residents pronounce Paraparaumu in three ways:
(1) exactly as it’s spelt
(2) emphasising the fourth ‘a’ and ignoring the u
(3) pronouncing the ‘au’ as separate vowels as in Taupō . When I did a Māori Language course we were told that vowels are pronounced separately, so some justification for that pronunciation.
Māori presenters on a recent programme on Māori TV, pronounced Paraparaumu exactly as it’s spelt. At least one Māori language expert agrees with this. It’s the simplest pronunciation for Paraparaumu residents when giving their address to others beyond "Kāpiti as it makes it easier for them to spell.
Māori don’t have plurals. Te is used for one, Nga for plurals. A literal interpretation of Nga Rara Rd could mean very sunny as Te Ra would be a or one sun. A literal meaning for para is dirt and umu is oven, so parapara would be a very dirty oven. As it would be in sand this is logical. Is it time for a united pronunciation?"
Tell us what you think.
Please put NFP, if you do not want your comments used by Stuff.
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.
We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️
We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?
Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.
-
35.8% I avoid spending money on coffee
-
54.3% I still indulge at my local cafe
-
9.9% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…
