Taumata
 Pronunciation of the (57-character) LINZ version of the name at Kōrero Māori, the Māori Language Commission website |
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is a hill near Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The height of the hill is 305 metres (1,001 ft). The hill is notable primarily for its unusually long name, which is of Māori origin; it is often shortened to Taumata for brevity. It has gained a measure of fame as it is the longest place name found in any English-speaking country, and the second-longest place name in the world, according to Wises New Zealand Guide and The New Zealand Herald. The name of the hill (with 85 characters) has also been listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest place name. Other versions of the name, including longer ones, are also sometimes used.
Broken down by syllable, the full place name is pronounced: Tau-ma-ta-fa-ka-ta-ngi-ha-nga-ko-au-au-o-ta-ma-te-a-tu-ri-pu-ka-ka-pi-ki-mau-nga-ho-ro-nu-ku-po-kai-fe-nu-a-ki-ta-na-ta-hu (40 syllables). Note that in the Maori language the digraph "wh" is pronounced as /f/.
The name "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" translates roughly as "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one".
Some forms of the name are longer still: "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaurehaeaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" has 92 letters. An even longer version, Taumata-whakatangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-haumai-tawhiti-ure-haea-turi-pukaka-piki-maunga-horo-nuku-pokai-whenua-ki-tana-tahu, has 105 letters and means "The hill of the nose-flute playing by Tamatea – who was blown hither from afar, had a slit penis, grazed his knees climbing mountains, fell on the earth, and encircled the land – to his beloved one".
The New Zealand Geographic Placenames Database, maintained by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), uses the somewhat shorter (57-character) name "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu".
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