Taumata​whakatangi​hangakoauau​o​tamateaturi​pukaka​pikimaunga​horonuku​pokai

December 18, 2021 8:39 PM

Maybe you have heard that Taumata​whakatangi​hanga​koauauota​mateaturi​pukakapi​kimaunga​horonu​kupokai​whenua​kitanatahu is the longest place name in Aoatearoa, perhaps the world. But if you don't know te reo rangatira, you probably don't know how to pronounce it. Let Te Hamua guide you.

Chaser.

posted by i_am_joe's_spleen (17 comments total)

...gogogoch!
posted by supermedusa at 8:48 PM on December 18, 2021 [7 favorites]

Hi, Can mods add some hyphens to that name, long strings cause the mobile classic layout on the main page to break.
posted by ecco at 8:55 PM on December 18, 2021 [3 favorites]

If it's absolutely necessary, then either side of the "o" in koauau-o-Tamatea would do least violence and be on actual word boundaries I guess.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:01 PM on December 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

Mod note: Edit note: I've added a bunch of "zero-width spaces" which should allow the placename to break at various points, to fix the page layout problem without introducing visible spaces or hyphens. Let us know if that doesn't work and the next mod on duty should be able to fix it.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 9:14 PM on December 18, 2021 [11 favorites]

I would like to suggest that Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai New Zealand become sister cites with Llanfairpwyygwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch Wales, Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta India, Schmedeswertherwesterdeich Germany, and also adhjifadlfkjna help me I'm havingastronk aoiyiugfaoupre, ahsjdf, in haedwkf
posted by LeRoienJaune at 9:57 PM on December 18, 2021 [7 favorites]

The only reason Twitter increased the character account was so people could say hello to family and friends in Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai from Llanfairpwyygwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch.
posted by fallingbadgers at 11:07 PM on December 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

Or you could listen to UK top 40 hit 'The Lone Ranger' by Quantum Jump.

SLYT

(But be warned contains a few :grimace emoji: 1970s era remarks about homosexuality, and Native American caricature)
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:03 AM on December 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

Johann Gambolputty ... of Ulm visited once, but he had no time to see the local landmarks and had to leave before he could completely address his 'Wish you were here' postcard because he ran out of funds and his travel visa expired.

Which was just as well because international rates for such an enormous oversized postcard would be simply prohibitive.
posted by zaixfeep at 2:46 AM on December 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

A decade or so ago, I visited Te Whakarewarewatanga-o-te-ope-a-Wahiao (The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao), a thermal village that operates as a tourist destination, on a guided tour of New Zealand. Our Maori guide, a gentleman who rather reminded me of Tim Curry, enjoyed telling us they call it Whakarewarewa for short, and no one uses the long name, though honestly Whakarewarewa is longer than the name of my own city.
posted by Peach at 3:25 AM on December 19, 2021

wpscriptiocontinuastyleofwritingwithoutspacesbetweenwords
posted by cenoxo at 5:53 AM on December 19, 2021

LobsterMitten > Edit note: I've added a bunch of "zero-width spaces" which should allow the placename to break at various points…

Does Metafilter have the best moderators, or what?
posted by cenoxo at 6:07 AM on December 19, 2021 [13 favorites]

New Zealand weather presenter saying that and trying the long Welsh name.
posted by tetranz at 8:53 AM on December 19, 2021 [3 favorites]

I would like to suggest that Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokai New Zealand become sister cites with Llanfairpwyygwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch Wales, Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta India, Schmedeswertherwesterdeich Germany

And naturally, the official composer would have to be Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitzweimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:03 AM on December 19, 2021

Be sure to have a swim at Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.
posted by vrakatar at 10:05 AM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

Te Hamua's eyebrows need their own show.
posted by lalochezia at 6:17 PM on December 19, 2021 [4 favorites]

Probably worth noting that many Māori place names commemorate historical events and are an important part of maintaining cultural continuity in an oral tradition. I might work up a post on this, there has been some wonderful work with GIS by iwi like Ngāi Tahu to present this in a modern format.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:18 PM on December 19, 2021 [5 favorites]

Oh yes please, i_am_joe's_spleen, that'd be brilliant.
posted by inexorably_forward at 8:19 PM on December 19, 2021 [2 favorites]