The ear-wincing pronunciation of Māori and Pasifika NRL players’ names has sparked the creation of a pronunciation guide for rugby commentators.
Stephen Gallagher (Ngāti Porou) created the guide due to constant mispronunciation of Māori and Pasifika NRL players.
The mispronunciation of names by Australian rugby league commentators has been an issue for a long time but the app developer says it’s time to make a change.
“I think now in 2024 we’re in a space where we should be getting it right,” he says.
As of 2023, 45% of NRL are of Pacific descent and nearly 50% of all players have either Māori or Pasifika heritage.
Many of the players’ names also hold mana so, when they are pronounced incorrectly, that can be considered offensive or degrading.
Gallagher looks to bridge that gap using the guide to create a culturally respectful environment for these players to flourish.
“There is so much mana, so much history, there is so much in all of our names, and [it] makes us who we are and where we came from and telling that story is a simple part of it..
“I think it’s super respectful and I think it’s just the right thing to do.”
Names being mispronounced is not an uncommon annoyance for Pasifika and Māori players hearing their name being pronounced the way the announcer guesses is correct.
Gallagher says some of the funniest instances of this issue come when the name isn’t even said to begin with.
“One of the biggest ones is just the lack of wanting to say peoples names, like the Gold Coast Titans prop, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. He’s just ‘‘Big Teenoo’, you know they don’t want to say it, it’s ‘Big Teenoo this’, ‘Big Teenoo that’,” he says.
Gallagher says it’s not a fault of the commentators and instead of taking umbrage, “we need to work together to aid the issue.”
“I know it’s not coming from a place of malice, they’re not trying to put daggers into the hearts of these people, it’s trying to make sure that we get it right and having that genuine attempt.”
Gallagher says entities like Fox Sport Australia support the changes that need to be made.
“I’d like to have a few more conversations with them, but yeah from people who want to watch, from people who do sporting podcasts though to Fox Sport in Australia, they have all reached out to me, wanting to get it too.
“It’s been very overwhelming,” he says.
The guide is accessible via a Google drive and is also available to the general public.