Talk:Aotearoan

I have lived in Aotearoa my whole life. I was brought up speaking NZ English, and learned fluent Te Reo Māori. I have *never* heard anybody use this word. It is not even a word in Te Reo Māori, whose words always end in a vowel. Tangata whenua who identify with their indigenous roots usually identify with an iwi (tribal group) or as Māori (pan-tribal identity). Those who identify with the dominant post-colonial culture identify as a kiwi, or a New Zealander, like their non-indigenous peers. Unless someone can cite a usage of this word, I would argue that it isn't a word, and that the page be deleted.

-- Danyl Strype, Aotearoa

— This unsigned comment was added by 119.224.104.184 (talk) at 11:41, 30 September 2012‎ (UTC).

Uses are very easily found; see google books:"Aotearoan", "Aotearoans". —Ruakh_TALK 17:23, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

This proves it has been used as a cute neologism in writing, but if it's not used in common speech, does it qualify it as a "word" that belongs in a dictionary? -- Danyl Strype, Aotearoa

Read WT:CFI. One person's "cute neologism" is another person's everyday word, basically. Equinox ◑ 14:56, 25 March 2016 (UTC)