Ng is the symbol for the single consonant (a voiced nasal guttural) which bears to k the same relation as m bears to p, and n to t. It is pronounced as ng in “singing”. The European may at first experience a little difficulty in pronouncing this consonant at the beginning of a syllable; to do this the glottis should first be closed, the lips parted, the tongue withdrawn from the palate, the voice passed through the nose (as in m and n), and the glottis opened as the required vowel is formed. Some of the Bay of Plenty tribes substitute n for this consonant; while the Ngaitahu, of the South Island, almost invariably replace it by k. It has not been considered desirable to cumber the dictionary with the enormous number of variant forms due to these dialectic peculiarities.
Williams Dictionary
