Everyone who learns te reo Māori is special

Friday, 17 July 2020

OPINION: Ko te reo tēnei, O ngā maunga e, O ngā awa me ngā moana, He reo tuku iho mai ra anō, Ko te reo tēnei o Aotearoa

This is the language of the mountains, Of the rivers and the seas, the language handed down from long ago, This is New Zealand’s language – “Kei te ako au” by Henrietta Maxwell.

This simple waiata reminds us that te reo Māori is New Zealand’s language. It has been sung by children since the first kōhanga reo, Pukeatua, opened in Wainuiomata in 1982.

Mai i te tuwheratanga o te kōhanga reo tuatahi, o Pukeatua, i Wainuiomata, i te tau 1982, kua waiatatia tēnei waiata māmā e whakamaumahara ana i a tātou ko te reo Māori te reo taketake o Aotearoa.

Nearly 40-years later it is heartening to see New Zealanders from all walks of life are increasingly feeling aroha for te reo Māori.

Tata ana te 40 tau i muri mai, e hī ana te ngākau ki te kite atu e nui ake ana te arohatia o te reo Māori e ngā momo tāngata o Aotearoa.

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During lockdown te reo has provided support and comfort from messages urging Kia Kaha Aotearoa, to others spreading the aroha.

I te noho rāhuitanga ko te reo tēnā i taunaki atu i ngā kupu tauawhi pēnei i a Kia Kaha Aotearoa me ētahi atu e hora ana i te aroha.

I’d like to acknowledge Dr Ashley Bloomfield for his use of te reo. The Māori language was not a formal part of the afternoon briefings while New Zealand’s other official languages were, so Dr Bloomfield’s kōrero meant a lot. We heard you e hoa!

Ko taku miha tēnei ki a Tākuta Ashley Bloomfield mō tāna whakamahi i te reo. Kāore te reo Māori i whai wāhi atu ki ngā whakamahuki ōkawa i ngā ahiahi, engari anō ērā atu o ngā reo whai mana ā-ture nei, nō reira i hiranga ngā kōrero a Tākuta Bloomfield. I rongo atu mātou e hoa!

The Māori Language Act established a language partnership between the Crown and Māori. Te Mātāwai promotes te reo within Māori communities. While at Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, our focus is promoting te reo to wider New Zealand.

Nā te Ture Reo Māori i waihanga te whakaaetanga ā-reo i waenganui i te Karauna me te Māori. Ko tā Te Mātāwai he whakatairanga i te reo ki roto i ngā hapori Māori. Ko tā mātou o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, ko tā mātou arotahi he whakatairanga i te reo ki a Aotearoa whānui.

Iwi have been leading their own successful language strategies. Ngāi Tahu are reaping the benefits of their Kotahi Mano Kāika strategy while Tainui recently launched a plan to see eight in 10 iwi members fluent speakers by 2050. While the Māori media – from iwi radio through to Māori TV – provide constant support to speakers and learners.

Ko ngā iwi tonu e kōkiri nei i ā rātou ake rautaki angitu. E whai hua ana a Ngāi Tahu i a Kotahi Mano Kāika, ā, nō nā tata nei rewa ai ko tā Tainui mahere e whai nei kia reo Māori te tokowaru o ngā uri 10 o Tainui hei te tau 2050. Ko tā te pāpāho Māori – mai i te reo irirangi tae atu ki a Whakaata Māori – he taituarā i ngā arero whero me ngā pia o te reo Māori.

Mainstream broadcast media outlets are weaving more te reo into their work and NZ Stuff began publishing some stories in te reo Māori as well as English.

Kei te kaha tuitui anō ngā rōpū pāpāho auraki i te reo ki roto i ā rātou mahi, ā, nō tērā wiki mutunga ka tīmata te whakaputa a NZ Stuff i ētahi o āna pūrongo ki te reo Māori me te reo Ingarihi.

We know that language classes can’t keep up with demand with some providers reporting twice as many people on waiting lists than classes.

E mātau atu ana kāore e taea e ngā akoranga reo Māori te whakatau ngā tono maha, ā, ki tā ētahi wānanga he rearua te nui ake o te hunga kei te rārangi tatari o ngā akoranga.

The Secretary of Education told me recently that for Māori medium education alone, she needs 3,000 teachers. Our own Colmar Brunton polling after last year’s Māori Language Week revealed that eight in 10 people see te reo as part of their identity as New Zealanders.

Nō nakuanei ko te kōrero mai a te Hēkeretari Mātauranga, me 3,000 rawa āna kaiako mō te wāhanga noa iho ki ngā kura reo Māori. Ā, e ai ki te pōti Colmar Brunton o muri atu i te Wiki o te Reo Māori i tērā tau, tokowaru o ngā tāngata 10 e whakaae nei ko te reo Māori tētahi wāhi nui o te tuakiri o te tangata o Aotearoa.

Meanwhile the GSS survey found more than half of all New Zealanders want te reo Māori to be a core subject in primary schools.

Ōrua mai ana, ka kitea e te rangahau a GSS neke atu i te haurua o te taupori o Aotearoa e hiahia nei kia uru te reo Māori hei kaupapa matua ki te kura tuatahi.

With many te reo classes full, some question the right of non-Māori to learn te reo.

Nā te noho kōpā o ngā akomanga reo maha, kua wero ētahi i te tika o te ako a tauiwi i te reo Māori.

The Māori Language Act 2016 states that te reo is a language valued by the nation and an official language of New Zealand.

E kī ana te Ture Reo Māori 2016 he reo e uaratia ana e te motu whānui, he reo hoki e whai mana ā-ture ana te reo Māori i Aotearoa nei.

For me this implies that all New Zealanders have the right to learn and speak te reo Māori. Secondly, if places in te reo classes are available, fill them with those that want them.

Ki a au nei e kī ana tēnei kei te katoa te tikanga ki te ako me te kōrero i te reo Māori. Tuarua, mena e wātea ana ngā tūranga akomanga reo, me whakakī ki te hunga kaingākau.

Everyone who learns te reo Māori is special. He motuhake te tangata ka whai i te reo Māori.

Regardless of who you are or where you are from, you have joined a movement that is shaping our national identity. Just as important, you are adding your voice to the many that are giving mana to New Zealand’s language.

Ahakoa ko wai, ahakoa nō hea, kua tūhonotia mai rā ki te kaupapa e whakairo nei i te tuakiri ā-motu. Waihoki ka tāpiri anō ko tō reo hei hiki i te mana o te reo ake o Aotearoa.

The problem isn’t the number of people wanting to learn te reo: the problem is making sure there are enough classes for them to attend. It’s a good problem to have.

Ko te raru ehara ko te nui tangata e hiahia nei ki te reo: ko te whakaū kei te rahi tonu ngā akomanga hei kura mō rātou. Engari he raru pai tonu tēnei.

We need to capitalise on the goodwill that generations of language champions have helped build.

Me whakaū te mahi pai a ngā reanga toa ki te hāpai ake i te reo.

It’s a reminder to all of us involved in te reo revitalisation that aroha for te reo Māori is hard-won, and it can all so easily be lost.

He whakamahara tēnei ki a tātou e whai wāhi nei ki te whakarauoratanga o te reo, mā te ūpoko pakaru ka ū te aroha ki tō tātou reo, engari ki te kore ka ngaro ērā hua.

Kia kaha te reo Māori – let te reo Māori be strong.

Ngahiwi Apanui is the CEO of Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission set up in 1987.