>Can any Kiwis confirm if we're now to call New Zealand "Aotearoa"?

I like the name Aotearoa, but New Zealand is still our better known and probably official name. There is talk about changing it to Aotearoa. Call us it if you want :)

Māori has slightly different vowels and language to other Pacific languages. They are reasonably close to Hawaiian and Samoan, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yac8HTQ9YLQ

This video has a fine pronunciation. In practise, the vowel blend of A and o blend into one, and ea and oa are said separately.