It is often the butt of jokes, but for migrants starting a new life in New Zealand, getting to grips with the Kiwi accent is no laughing matter.

The flattened vowel, which turns "fish and chips" into "fush en chups", and a host of colourful colloquialisms can make communicating in Kiwi vastly different to speaking any other kind of English.

Now, in an attempt to make the transition easier, puzzled new arrivals are being offered a course in how to understand the "kay-weay eksent".

The Auckland Regional Migrant Services Charitable Trust, which helps migrants settle in New Zealand and find work, has set up the classes to help foreigners "understand the Kiwi accent and use of English".

Nazli Effendi, who created the course, said several aspects of New Zealand communication flummoxed newcomers.

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Source: Bonnie Malkin, www.telegraph.co.uk