Reo rua ā mua: How Kiwis might talk in 2040

Monday, 3 September 2018

If New Zealand really wants to see a million Kiwis speaking te reo Māori by 2040, we all need to learn to have these mundane conversations.

Mōrena, kei te pēhea koe?

Less than 4 per cent of NZ's population speaks te reo Māori, so there's a good chance you don't understand the sentence above - but in 22 years' time, the situation could be very different.

The Government's draft plan to revitalise te reo Māori, the Maihi Karauna, sets an ambitious target of having a million Kiwis speaking basic te reo by 2040.

But there are some big hurdles to overcome to make that a reality.

* Compulsory te reo - can it really be done?

* Nothing to fear over compulsory te reo**

DEFINING THE GOAL

There is no set definition for what constitutes 'basic' te reo Māori. The Māori Language Commission, which is responsible 'for leading the coordination of the implementation of the strategy', offered Stuff some non-official guidelines.

Chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui said he grew up around people speaking te reo Māori interchangeably with English. He'd like that to be what a Kiwi conversation is like in 2040.

A million Kiwis speaking basic te reo by 2040 is an ambitious target, but attendence at Māori Language Week parades show many of us are already interested.

Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta considers 'basic' te reo Māori to be greetings, saying please and thank you, being able to ask for basic directions, and having the ability to introduce yourself. Simple conversations like asking how someone is or how their weekend was could be considered basic te reo, she said.

'People can put a lot of stock in defining what basic is, but really te reo Māori is a living language.

'If we spend too much time defining what basic is we might limit the opportunity for people to start from where they are and that's a really important point, wherever people start is what would be basic, and as long as they have opportunities to progress … then I think that it's having the impact that it's intended to have,' she said.

The Māori Language Commission's Ngahiwi Apanui wants to hear English and te reo Māori across New Zealand.

Essentially, if a million Kiwis could speak basic te reo Māori, that would mean they would be able to use the language in different situations several times a day.

MAKING TE REO MUNDANE

Mundane conversations are surprisingly important for achieving that goal.

Many people had developed misconceptions about the language if their exposure was only in formal situations. For Apanui, it's more fun.

'I've heard more dirty jokes in Māori than I have heard in any other language … some of the biggest laughs I've had have been from comments made in te reo Māori,' he said.

Apanui wanted to get people 'to learn those mundane things like good morning', to normalise te reo Māori.

'It's really about taking the language into wider New Zealand, because without the assistance and the support and the good will of wider New Zealand, we're going to struggle to revitalise the language.'

Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta says we all need to learn the mundane stuff like saying 'good morning'.

That comes down to Pākehā as well as Māori. 'Many Pākeha in my own community do embrace te reo Māori,' Mahuta said. 'It's one community at a time, but the more communities align to this aspiration, [the more] it can create a snowball effect.'

HOW WILL THIS BE ACHIEVED?

Education is the key. 'If by 2025, te reo Māori is compulsory in schools, the goal is achievable. If it's not, then the goal becomes harder and harder,' Apanui said.

Currently, the Government is working towards having te reo Māori integrated into early childhood education, primary and intermediate schools by 2025.

The Government has pulled back on the idea of making it compulsory, however. Mahuta's suggestion in May that compulsory te reo was a matter of when, not if, earned her a sharp rebuke from NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

Even without compulsory te reo, Mahuta believes the goal is possible. 'It's important that we set an aspirational target, one million people speaking te reo Māori by 2040 is aspirational,' she said.

Apanui says the Government should be braver. 'Part of the role that we have is to convince the Government that it has to be courageous enough to make te reo Māori compulsory in schools.'

NZEI's Laures Park, shown here presenting a petition at Parliament to Labour MP Megan Woods, says the te reo teacher shortage has been a problem since 1995.

If New Zealand taught 500,000 students te reo over eight years, many would be fluent by the time they hit year 8, Apanui said.

A CHICKEN AND EGG PROBLEM

NZ already has unprecedented numbers of people signing up to learn te reo Māori - and classes can't keep up.

NZ Educational Institute Matua Takawaenga Laures Park said the country has been dealing with a shortage of te reo Māori-speaking teachers since 1995.

There were issues around teacher retention as well, as te reo-speaking teachers were often snapped up by other professions, she said. That meant the 2040 goal was, while possible, 'not probable'.

'It's very lofty at this stage, given the shortage,' she said - especially if we want people's te reo skills to go beyond simple pronunciations and greetings.

Simple everyday conversations like saying hello and ordering coffee will be important for getting more people speaking te reo.

Mahuta said the Government was working on it, and efforts to ensure teachers were valued would help address the issue.

But Apanui said there was a big focus on taking Māori language speakers and turning them into teachers. He wanted to go the other way. 'I'd rather go to a great teacher and teach them te reo Māori and then let them loose.'

THE OTHER GOALS

Maihi Karauna by stuffnewsroom on Scribd

The Maihi Karauna sets out two other goals: to have te reo Māori as a key element of national identity, and to have 150,000 Māori speaking te reo as a primary language by 2040.

'This is the first time the Crown and Māori have entered into an active, planned partnership for revitalisation,' Mahuta said at the start of August.

'The Government recognises the importance of te reo Māori as a taonga and the responsibility we have to protect its status. And when I think of my young children growing up it is increasingly important to ensure that more Kiwis connect and reflect our common identity through valuing the indigenous language and culture of our country.'

Apanui believed NZ was in a good position to pull off all its goals by 2040, and encouraged Kiwis to not be fearful of using NZ's native tongue, even if they weren't Māori.

'It's not cultural appropriation - this is your New Zealand identity.'

Public consultation on the Maihi Karauna is open until September 30. Te wiki o te reo Māori/Māori Language Week runs until September 16.