Top Document: The soc.culture.new-zealand FAQ Previous Document: B7 Contributors Next Document: C2 Cities Of New Zealand See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge For a 'definitive' definition of what a 'kiwi' is (and isn't), here is pete@bignode's contribution. Americans take particular note... :-) "The kiwi is a rare flightless (& very much protected) bird native to New Zealand, and is a symbol of NZ in much the same way that the bald eagle is a symbol of the US. "Kiwi" is also a (generally affectionate) informal term for a New Zealander. The pulpy green fruit with the brown skin that Americans call "kiwi" is known everywhere else in the world as "kiwifruit", and not all NZers realise that Americans don't know the correct name for it. "If you tell a New Zealander that you ate a *kiwi*, you are unlikely to be accused of cannibalism, but if the NZer doesn't realise that you mean a *kiwifruit*, you will probably shock & offend them (what would your reaction be if I told you that I ate a bald eagle?). If they *do* realise that you mean a *kiwifruit*, they will probably just be annoyed. If you can't understand why they should be annoyed, think of something that America introduced to the world & imagine your reaction if we insisted on ignoring the name that you gave it, & called it "bald eagle" or "stars and stripes" instead." User Contributions:Top Document: The soc.culture.new-zealand FAQ Previous Document: B7 Contributors Next Document: C2 Cities Of New Zealand Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: soc.culture.new-zealand@news.demon.co.uk
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
|
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: