Voice artist says no to ‘white’ pronunciation

AUCKLAND: A New Zealand voice artist has refused to voice a script after being asked to pronounce Waimate the ‘‘white way’’.

Dave Ward, who voices radio advertisements for NZME, wrote on Twitter on Thursday night he had refused to voice a script for the first time in 18 years after being asked to pronounce a Maori word — the name of the South Island town — the ‘‘white way’’.

‘‘My voice pays our mortgage and I won’t lend it to this. ‘Low level’ racism like pronunciation is still racism and this it NOT ‘the white way’,’’ he wrote.

‘‘It’s astounding that the client deemed it an acceptable request. Insulting to Maori and to my professional integrity. Enough is enough.’’

Ward addressed the tweet to New Zealand director Taika Waititi, who recently told an interviewer New Zealand was a ‘‘racist place’’ because people refused to pronounce Maori names properly.

Waititi responded: ‘‘Ka mau te wehi, e hoa! (said the ‘brown’ way)’’. Translated it means, ‘‘awesome, mate’’.

Ward has been inundated with support since posting the tweet.

NZME broadcaster Stacey Morrison wrote: ‘‘Ka pai Dave, and it’s more the wrong way than the ‘white way’.’’

The client declined to comment when approached by the Herald.

NZME entertainment director Dean Buchanan said there was a fantastic momentum in New Zealand around te reo and embracing the proper pronunciation of the Maori language.

‘‘As a major broadcaster we see we have an important role to play in this regard. It’s a really important issue for us,’’ he said.

‘‘What this has taught us is that we need to make sure our commercial voice contractors know where to raise an issue, if they have a problem that needs to be addressed.’’