R.
R has two sounds: (1) rough; as in rain, river, &c.; e. g., kahore, rorea, roro, roto.
(2) The second is more soft, and is formed by a gentle jar of the tongue against the palate; so gentle indeed is the vibration, that most foreigners pronounce it like d or l, as in raro, ruru, rimu, pouaru, pari, muri, mariri, koiri, korikori, kouru, maru.
T.
This is a letter which few Europeans pronounce correctly. It is not pronounced like the t in temper, tea, &c.; but rather like the sharp th of apathy, sympathy, Athens, apothecary. Those who watch a native's tongue while pronouncing this letter, will find that the rule for attaining this sound is, to apply the tongue, not to the root, but to the top of the teeth, and hardly emit a.
W.
Has two sounds, one simple, as that in wind, &c., e. g., wai, water, waka, a canoe, ware, a plebeian.
2. An aspirated w, as in when, where, &c.; whai, follow, whare, a house, &c.
NG.
The speaker should be careful, in uttering this sound not to separate the n from the g, as is sometimes done by foreigners. The n and g intimately coalesce, and those who have learned to pronounce the French encore will find no difficulty in catching it. The following rule will, we trust, help the beginner.