On Tomaytoes and Tomahtoes – UPDATED

Greetings, my fellow port swillers!

Ol’ Robbo found himself watching a teevee program about New Zealand last evening which touched briefly on the Maoris.

Not that the name has any good reason to come up in Ol’ Robbo’s everyday conversation, but I had always thought this name pronounced “May-OR-ee”. The narrator, however, consistently said, “MOW-ree”. A quick scan of the innerwebz seems to confirm that the latter is correct.

I can admit when I’m wrong, but I wonder if this is one of those examples of past pronunciations being disappeared for politickal reasons like, for example, the current fashion of pronouncing Kiev “Keeeev”. Is my version perhaps an echo of the country’s colonial history? Or am I just a dummy?

You needn’t answer the latter question. As I say, it’s not a word I use very often.

UPDATE: Somewhat related, perhaps, I see increasing numbers of scary monster stories about some new “bivalent” COVID “booster” and how you knuckle-dragging science deniers who refuse to take it are all gonna die and serves you right!!

Which is not the point in and of itself. Rayther, the point is that I consistently misread “bivalent” as “bivalve”.

But since I detest oysters and clams, I suppose it is sort of the point after all!