How do you pronounce Paraparaumu?

Reporter Community News

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?"

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