Tono whare wānanga: a formal request with a sensitive fee
You are writing an email in Māori to a marae committee to request the use of their whare nui for a two-day wānanga on 10-11 May. You need to include a mihi, a clear request, and a question about the koha. The committee's published policy says: 'Ehara te koha i te utu.' You do not want to imply that you are paying a fee. You also need to decide between 'tēnā koe' and 'tēnā koutou' for the opening, and between 'whakawhetai' and 'mihi' for thanks. A colleague has told you that 'wānanga' should be spelled 'wananga' without the macron because 'that is how the committee writes it on Facebook'. You have 45 minutes to draft the email. The committee meets on the first Monday of the month, which is 5 May.
1. Draft the opening two sentences of the email and explain your choices of greeting, register, and spelling.
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Example: 'Tēnā koutou e te komiti o te marae, otirā e ngā rangatira. Ka tū taku mihi ki a koutou katoa i runga i te kaupapa o te wānanga.' Reasoning: 'Tēnā koutou' is correct for a committee of three or more; 'e te komiti' names the recipient; 'otirā e ngā rangatira' lifts the register without being grandiose. Use 'wānanga' with the macron because that is standard orthography in formal Māori writing; a Facebook spelling is not a style guide. Keep the opening short - the request should come by the second or third sentence. Avoid 'Tēnā koe' because it addresses one person. Avoid 'whakawhetai' in the opening if 'mihi' carries the greeting more naturally; save 'whakawhetai' for the closing thanks.
2. How do you ask about the koha without implying it is a fee?
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Use the committee's own framing. Say: 'E mōhio ana au, ehara te koha i te utu. He pātai noa iho: he aha te koha e tika ana mō te whakamahinga o te whare nui?' This acknowledges their policy before asking. Avoid 'e hia te utu?' or 'he utu?' because those frame the exchange as a commercial transaction. 'Koha' keeps the relationship and reciprocity in view. If you want to be extra careful, add: 'Ka waiho mā koutou e whakatau te āhua o te koha.' That gives the committee mana to set the terms. The reasoning: the risk is not the question itself but the frame; naming the policy first shows you understand the difference between koha and utu.
3. What do you do about the colleague's spelling advice?
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Use standard orthography in the email: 'wānanga', 'Māori', 'kōrero'. A committee's informal Facebook style does not override the standard for a formal request, and inconsistent macrons can look careless. If you know the committee has an explicit house style without macrons, you could follow it, but you should not assume that from Facebook. A safe compromise is to use standard spelling and, if they reply with a different preference, match it in later correspondence. The reasoning: correctness and consistency matter in a formal email, but respect for the recipient's style matters too. Do not let a colleague's casual observation override a deliberate decision about register.