Kiwis talking up Māori language and hospitality

Māori Language Week 2011
4 - 10 July, 2011

Kiwis across New Zealand are talking up their language and hospitality skills as they join in the annual Māori Language Week (4 - 10 July 2011).

Organised by New Zealand’s Māori Language Commission, Māori Language Week is a national event encouraging all Kiwis to have a go at increasing their knowledge and use of te reo Māori in everyday life.

Māori language activities during the week will include a special focus in schools, concerts, films, and family events.

Manaakitanga theme
This year’s theme of ‘manaakitanga’ - the way in which Māori practise hospitality - will also offer a practical opportunity for New Zealanders preparing to welcome 85,000 international visitors for Rugby World Cup.

A central value in Māori custom and identity, manaakitanga can be credited with helping shape modern ‘Kiwi’ hospitality.

Manaakitanga is about "how we make people feel welcome when they are in our company, and how we give regard to and care for others when hosting visitors," says Māori Language Commission chief executive, Glenis Philip-Barbara.

"Here is a golden opportunity to think of all the ways you can act positively in your community and utilise the language and practice of manaakitanga to do so."

Māori language activities
During Māori Language Week, businesses and organisations are encouraged to actively use the Māori language.

In the office, this includes adopting Māori business names, using Māori greetings and signs, and providing learning opportunities for staff members.

In the home, whanau / families are encouraged to learn Māori words and phrases, label household items, read stories, watch Māori-language television and listen to radio, answer the phone and record messages in Māori.

Māori speakers
The Māori language is an intrinsic part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and history, and gives the country a distinct and unique identity.

Many places have Māori names, and Māori vocabulary is used in everyday speech. Māori language is taught in schools from pre-school to university level.

Modern Māori language innovations include predictive text on mobile phones, Google Māori, and a Legal Māori Archive.

Use of the Māori language continues to develop. About 23 percent of New Zealanders can speak Māori.

The 2006 census showed 565,300 people living in New Zealand identified as Māori, with 131,600 people able to converse in Māori about 'a lot of everyday things’.

Māori Language Day
Māori Language Day marks the date in 1972 when a petition calling for courses in Māori language and culture to be offered in New Zealand schools was presented to Parliament.

The landmark petition was the first step towards the formation of the Māori Language Commission, and the subsequent recognition of te reo Māori as one of the two official languages of New Zealand.

In 1975, the one-day celebration was expanded into Māori Language Week, and observance was moved from September to July to better fit the New Zealand school year.

Background: Te reo Māori

Māori is the ancestral language of the tangata whenua / indigenous Māori people of New Zealand.

The language is considered a national taonga / treasure and, as such, is guaranteed protection under the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document.

Te reo Māori was suppressed for many years with the establishment of English-only schools in New Zealand. By the 1970s, it was predicted that Māori would soon be a language without native speakers, causing grave concern.

Steps were taken to preserve Māori language including Te Ataarangi (a language learning system), the establishment of kohanga reo / Māori language pre-schools, kura kaupapa / Māori language schools, and a Māori language television station.

In 1987, te reo Māori was declared an official language of New Zealand. Today, about 130,000 Māori New Zealanders are able to speak the language.

NZ History website: 100 Maori words