Rarotongan is a variety of Cook Islands Māori spoken on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, where is has official status. There are 14,000 speakers in the Cook Islands, according to the 2011 census, and 7,725 speakers in New Zealand, according to the 2013 census.
Rarotongan is also known as Māori, Cook Islands Māori (Māori Kūki 'Āirani) or Te reo Ipukarea (the language of the Ancestral Homeland). It is closely related to Taihitian and Maori.
Other Cook Islands Maori dialects include Rakahanga-Manihiki, Tongareva (Penrhyn), Aitutaki, Mangaia, and the Ngaputoru dialects of Atiu, Mitiaro and Mauke.
Download a Rarotongan alphabet chart (Excel)
Kua anau rangatira ia te tangata katoatoa ma te aiteite i te au tikaanga e te tu ngateitei tiratiratu. Kua ki ia ratou e te mero kimi ravenga e te akavangakau e kia akono tetai i tetai, i roto i te vaerua piri anga taeake.
A recording of this text by Tamati Taylor
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Information about Rarotongan | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Information about the Rarotongan Language
http://www.biroz.net/otherpages/tahiti/raro.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rarotongan_language
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rarotonganische_Sprache
Online Rarotongan courses
http://www.tuatuamai.co.nz
Online Rarotongan dictionaries
http://www.cook-islands-maori-dictionary.org
Rarotongan grammar
http://books.google.co.uk/
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 23.04.21
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.
[top]