Māori Language Week

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cielbleu
Māori Language Week

Postby cielbleu » 2006-07-25, 9:43

Kia ora!

In Aotearoa (New Zealand) this week, it is Māori language week. I'm interested to find out your thoughts on this.

Māori Language Week, te wiki o te reo Māori, is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to learn or at least support the minority official language, Māori.

It has been celebrated since 1985.

I personally think that it shouldn't all be crammed into one week, and there should be far more advertising etc. about this topic. There is one full page ad in my local newspaper, which gives a very brief history of the Māori language, and also teaches a few phrases, but that's all there is! In bigger papers there might be more, but considering I live in Northland, the region where most of the Māori people live, I'd think there would be more put into this.

Nero

Postby Nero » 2006-07-25, 11:59

At least it's something.

If it were a month, it would start out strong ("YEAH! MAORI LANGUAGE MONTH! te marama o te reo Māori!") but probably a lot weaker at the end

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Postby Sisyphe » 2006-07-25, 20:20

I certainly agree with you that New Zealand's largest minority should be promoted and celebrated for longer than a week. I hope the government of New Zealand shows that the Maori are not an undeclass by supporting them in other ways for the remaining 53(I think there its 53...) weeks... :roll:
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Postby Ariki » 2006-07-27, 6:00

Keali'i Reichel wrote:"Aloha kâkou! Ua lohe au: `O kêia ka makahiki `ôlelo Hawai`i. He ho`omaka maika`i kêlâ, akâ na`e, `a`ale lawa. `O kêia ka wâ `ôlelo Hawai`i, `eâ? No leila, pehea lâ ma hope o kêia makahiki? Pau ka `ôlelo Hawai`i? `A`ole loa. Inâ `a`ale `oe `ôlelo Hawai`i, pehea `oe `ike `ai i ka nani o nâ mele. Pehea `oe `ike `ai i ka loina o kô mâkou kûpuna. `Eâ, no laila, e hele `oukou `ao mai i ka `ôlelo Hawai`i. If you nevah undahstan', ah shucks!"


Teariki Reichel wrote:"Kia ora tātou! Kua rangona e au: Ko tēnei te tau o te reo Hawaiki. He whakatīmataranga pai tērā, engari, kāore anō kia nui. Ko tēnei te wā mō te reo Hawaiki, e? Nō reira, pēwhea ā muri atu i te tau nei? Kua pau te reo Hawaiki? Kāore kau! Mehemea kāore e taea na e koe te kōrero Hawaiki, ka pēwhea koe e mōhio ai i te reka o ngā waiata? Ka pēwhea koe e mōhio ai i te ahurea o ngō mātou tūpuna? Āe, nō reira, haere koutou ā ako mai i te reo Hawaiki. If you nevah undahstan', ah shucks!"


Keali'i Reichel's comments summarise my feelings on this subject.

http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/o-openkr3.html

One week is not enough. One month is not enough. Te Reo Māori is not a one off affair. It is a way of communicating through life. With te reo are the idioms, sayings, beliefs and stories of our ancestors. We often proudly say that we are a multi-lingual nation. There are two official languages - te reo Rotarota (Sign) and te reo Māori. English is also used as the 'de-facto' language.

Te reo Māori is not a language only to be used on the 'marae' for the 'tangi'. It is not a language only for ceremonial occasion. No. It is a language that can be used and is used in every single environment that we find ourselves in.

The ancient name for Antarctica is 'Te Whenua Hukapapa' (The Land of Ice). We have words to describe 'science' pūtaiao, technology 'hangarau' as well as words to describe traditional life - whakapapa 'chronicles, history, genealogy'.

I personally think that it shouldn't all be crammed into one week, and there should be far more advertising etc. about this topic. There is one full page ad in my local newspaper, which gives a very brief history of the Māori language, and also teaches a few phrases, but that's all there is! In bigger papers there might be more, but considering I live in Northland, the region where most of the Māori people live, I'd think there would be more put into this.


Te reo Māori is a taonga from the ancestors. You are right, it shouldn't be crammed in to one week.

There is more that needs to be done.

Bilingualism in Māori and English should be compulsory. Even trilingualism should be compulsory. An appreciation of Māori will lead to an appreciation of the other closely related languages of the Pacific.

Official signs should be bilingual - with the Māori name in the same size font as the English one. Māori is not to be treated like 'Latin' whereby its usage is token.

Kia ora te reo Māori.

Long live te reo Māori.
Linguicide IS genocide. :)

He ingoa ōpaki a Riki; he ingoa ōkawa a Ariki.

Riki is an informal name; Ariki is a formal name.

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Te Reo Maori O Rarotonga

Postby Ariki » 2006-07-27, 6:19

I read this interesting snippet from Watea FM.

Pat Hohepa, a famous Māori linguist, is going to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands to help the Rarotongans save their language. The languages spoken on the outer islands (e.g. Aitutaki, Mangaia etc) are fine. However, because Rarotongan is under so much pressure from the English language, there is a real danger that it could be lost.

Also, a kaumātua from Ngāti Maniapoto, is still not happy, that the main language used by speakers of te reo Māori at the Kura Kaupapa Māori(presumably the teachers in their private discussions) is English. There is a greater need to provide better communication networks between isolated groups of speakers as well as a greater need to give second language learners greater confidence to speak Māori.

So, from my taumata (vantage), there is much more that needs to be done. I need to do more here - I need to post more bilingually. Watch this space.
Linguicide IS genocide. :)

He ingoa ōpaki a Riki; he ingoa ōkawa a Ariki.

Riki is an informal name; Ariki is a formal name.

cielbleu

Postby cielbleu » 2006-07-27, 6:37

[quote="riki]
Official signs should be bilingual - with the Māori name in the same size font as the English one. Māori is not to be treated like 'Latin' whereby its usage is token.

Kia ora te reo Māori.

Long live te reo Māori.[/quote]

I agree with you. Traffic signs, tags on uniforms and the like should all have a Māori equivilant. At my school, every sign on classrooms is written in Māori and English, but unfortunately, English is always written in larger letters and is written before the Māori. Atleast it is a start, that the signs are in both languages.

So, from my taumata (vantage), there is much more that needs to be done. I need to do more here - I need to post more bilingually. Watch this space.


It would be really great if you did write bi-lingually. I really do wish that Māori lessons would be compulsary here in year 11, just like English lessons are, even for Pakeha people like me. I understand that a lot of people wouldn't want these lessons, but they should have to put up with them just like I have to put up with lessons they don't like.

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Postby Ariki » 2006-07-27, 6:56

Āe, he tika tāu, nō te mea, ehara i te mea tika me ako e ngā tāngata katoa te reo Pākehā mēnā ehara te reo Māori i te mea me ako e ngā tāngata katoa. Kua hē te whakamahinga o te reo Pākehā - kua whakamahia kētia taua reo hei reo hei tāmi i ngā tāngata whenua. Hei tango i te tuakiri kāmehameha o ngā tāngata whenua.

Yes, you are right, because, it is not right that everyone should learn English if the Māori language is not something that should be learnt by everyone. The English has been used is wrong - it has been used to oppress the indigenous peoples. To take away the precious identity of the indigenous peoples.

Ka rua ngā reo o te whenua nei kua whakamanahia e te ture, koia hoki -

te reo Māori
te reo Rotarota

There are two languages which have been recognised by law, that is -

the Māori language
Sign Language

I tōku nei manako, mēnā e tautokona ana ngēnei reo e te ture, tēnā, me ako ngēnei reo e rua mehemea me ako te reo Pākehā.

I think, if these languages are supported by law, then, these two languages should be learnt if English has to be learnt.

Kua waimarie nei au, nō te mea, ka rua ngā reo e mōhiotia ana e au - te reo Māori (he reo kua whakamanahia), te reo Pākehā (he reo e whakamahia ana hei reo waka).

I am fortunate, because, I know two languages - Māori (a language which is recognised) and English (a language which used as a vehicular language).

Kia puta mai na koe i te kura tuarua, me whakaaro tēnei mea e koe - me neke ake koe ki Tāmakimakaurau noho ai, hohota tonu ai ki te ako i te reo Wīwī i te whare wānanga nei. Nā, me whakaaro hoki e koe ki te ako i te reo Māori inā haere mai koe.

When you graduate from school, consider this - you should move to Auckland to live, and to persist in learning the French language at university. You should also consider learning the Māori language if you come.
Linguicide IS genocide. :)

He ingoa ōpaki a Riki; he ingoa ōkawa a Ariki.

Riki is an informal name; Ariki is a formal name.


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