Taranaki linguist's words take te reo concepts around the world

Sunday, 10 July 2022

Taranaki linguist and author Keri Opai joins the line-up at the Auckland Writers Festival next month. (File photo)

A Taranaki linguist’s contribution to the world of words has seen his kupu Māori take hold around the globe.

Taranaki author Keri Opai’s latest book Tikanga: An introduction to Te Ao Māori, has sold more than 10,000 copies since it was released last year, and has reached audiences across Aotearoa and further afield.

This included interest from the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office last week, after Opai fielded a call from a representative who asked if they could use some of the book’s information.

The guide provides insights into how the Māori world operates, but Opai was keen to keep it as user-friendly as possible.

“There’s plenty of academic works out there, but nobody reads them. They’re sitting on a shelf gathering dust.”

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He said he wrote the book from the viewpoint of answering questions people always asked him.

Chief executive Geraldine Woods stands in front of the signage for the new Ministry of Disabled People, or Whaikaha. The kupu Māori was one of Opai’s creations as part of the Te Reo Hāpai project. (File Photo)

“I concentrated on the why of a lot of things.”

Opai, who is Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Te Ata, Waiohua and Ngāti Porou, said writing the book had been a challenge.

“I’ve never written in English before, everything I’ve done has been in Māori.”

Opai spoke to Stuff/Taranaki Daily News ahead of his appearance at this year’s Auckland Writers Festival, which runs from August 23-28.

He is one of several writers with links to the region who are part of the line-up, and will run sessions focussing on the pronunciation of te reo Māori and the use of pepeha.

Another work the co-deputy chief executive and pou tikanga at Tui Ora is well known for was Te Reo Hāpai, a glossary for use in the mental health, addiction and disability sectors.

For that project, he created 200 new words and concepts in te reo, which could be used in the health field.

“I was amazed with that, it went around the world.”

Included in the list was the word he created for autism, takiwātanga, which means my/his/her own time and space.

Another recent usage of Opai’s kupu was Whaikaha, which is the te reo name of the newly created Ministry of Disabled People.

He is often thanked by people for the words he created, which better reflected their personal realities.

“That’s the reward, it’s helping people and makes them see things differently.”