Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week is an annual celebration of Te Reo Māori promoted by the Māori Language Commission working with the Human Rights Commission and Te Puni Kokiri.
The week highlights the opportunity for New Zealanders to ‘Give it a go’- to learn and use more Māori phrases in everyday life.
“The time has come for us to build on Te Wiki o te Reo, and to extend out to a month. Mahuru Māori is about empowering ourselves to speak our language unapologetically. People reference the ZePA model, which talks about ‘right-shifting’ the critical mass; from zero, to passive, to active. Shifting is great, but we need to be more proactive,” Paraone Gloyne told the NZ Herald.
If you’re a beginner in learning, then a great place to learn is the Starting In Te Reo Māori podcast, hosted by Grant Whitbourne. There is also the bilingual Tāringa podcast made by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and hosted by Te Puaheiri Snowden and Paraone Gloyne which blends traditional stories and the history of tikanga.
The New Zealand government is aiming to have 1 million speakers of te reo by 2040.
Image courtesy Māori Language Week.
