HAKAMANA MĀORI/ENGLISH COMPUTER KEYBOARD
HAKAMANA Māori/English Multilingual Keyboard offers the use of both the Māori language (with letters, macrons and keywords laid out following the way Māori is taught and learnt) and the English language (using the standard QWERTY keyboard layout).
HAKAMANA Māori Keyboard © features:
- Macrons (ā ē ī ō ū) and digraphs (ng wh) in one key-strike
- Key-words (whaka, mana, kia, ora) in one key-strike
- Switching between using the Māori and English keyboard in one key-strike
- A comprehensive Māori dictionary / word list, facilitating spell check
- Compatibility with Microsoft and HTML
- Macrons in all fields (e.g in ‘edit-find-replace’ fields)
Your HAKAMANA System includes:
- CD Rom (which takes only a minute to load)
- HAKAMANA Guide
- Your choice of adhesive keytop-labels; EITHER:
- Māori/QWERTY – Māori language in large, bold letters and English language in smaller letters underneath
- OR: QWERTY/māori – English language in large, bold letters and Māori language in smaller letters underneath
- BOTH are available in either light or dark blue/green paua backgrounds. The choice is yours!
IT’S EASY TO USE – AND EASY TO LEARN!
Advantages:
The uniqueness of the keyboard lies in the way that it closely follows the way the Māori language is structured, taught and learnt. It contains macrons (ā, ē, ī, ō and ū) and double consonant sounds ng, wh that are part of the Māori alphabet, yet do not form part of the English alphabet. Furthermore, because the Māori language consists of fewer letters than English, we have added some of the most frequent letter combinations (e.g. prefix) or whole words – e.g. whaka, kia, ora.
HAKAMANA
The Māori/English Multilingual Keyboard has been called HAKAMANA. This word is comprised of a number of important words and concepts that are known throughout Aotearoa, the Pacific, the Indigenous world, and beyond. In various Polynesian languages HA, infers the breath of life; KA, the fire that burns within us; and MANA, infers having qualities of power, strength, authority, a miracle, a wonder, and honour. HAKAMANA is Rapanui Māori means to sanction something, and to give someone power. These meanings align well with our vision and value proposition to empower Indigenous peoples through new technologies.
Furthermore, the first four consonants on the keyboard are h k m n, which in the Māori alphabet are known as ha ka ma na, thus there is a functional component to the man. Most of all, it is an important tool, a song/waiata used in the kohanga and kura to teach babies and children our wonderful language.