28 Jul 2011

Cook Islands Maori dictionary may soon be available online

7:17 am on 28 July 2011

A Cook Islands Maori dictionary may soon be available online, as the number of physical copies dwindle.

Rarotonga bookshops have sold out of the dictionary, which is out of print.

Those interested can view the book at Rarotonga's library and museum but only second hand copies can be bought, if found.

The University of the South Pacific last printed the Buse Taringa Cook Islands Maori dictionary, named after its authors Jasper Buse and Raututi Taringa, about four years ago.

The Cook Islands ministry of education is now identifying ways to make the dictionary and other texts available online.

This is an initiative supported by the USP, which also wants dictionaries for the dialects and languages of the Cooks' outer islands available on the internet.