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Is there an AmE/BrE equivalent to the New Zealand English word 'whanau'?

English Language & Usage Asked on February 23, 2021

In an MSN News article about increasing firearms in the UK, which mentioned the recent death of Sergeant Matiu Ratana (originally from New Zealand) in a Croydon custody suite, the word ‘whanau’ was used which I had never come across before.

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, paid tribute to the officer on Facebook. She wrote: “To all Matiu’s whanau [extended family] across the world, we share your sorrow and have all our condolences.”

I could not find it listed in online dictionaries – Merriam Webster or Cambridge, but Wikipedia notes it as follows :

Whānau (Māori pronunciation: [ˈfaːnaʉ]) is a Māori-language word for extended family. It is sometimes also used in New Zealand English

Wikipedia

How is this word pronounced and is there an equivalent in BrE and/or AmE, please ?

Is it sometimes transliterated in BrE or AmE writing, if there is no exact equivalent ?


EDIT (upon comment) The word appears to mean more than just ‘extended family’

In Māori society, the whānau is also a political unit[citation needed], below the levels of hapū and iwi, and the word itself has other meanings: as a verb meaning to be born or give birth. Wikipedia

One Answer

Extended family is about as close a translation as you'll get, though it also has a wider sense of community. In traditional Maori society the iwi (tribe) is divided into groups called hapu (about the equivalent to the septs of Scottish clans), and below that is the whanau, which is the extended family plus any close friends who are treated like family. A rough approximation of the pronunciation would be FAA-now. The term has gained acceptance as a term by Pakeha (non-Maori New Zealanders), largely because there's no easy direct translation.

A lot can be told about Maori attitudes to genealogy and interconnectedness from the fact that "iwi" also means ancestral bones, "hapu" also means pregnant, and "whanau" also means to give birth.

Correct answer by James on February 23, 2021

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