Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Every year since 1975 New Zealand has marked Maori Language Week. This is a time for all New Zealanders to celebrate te reo Maori and to use more Maori phrases in everyday life. In 2010 the theme of Maori Language Week is ‘Te Mahi Kai – The Language of Food’.
A message from Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples, as Māori Language Week begins for 2010:
“He maha ngā taonga a te iwi Māori i tākoha ki ngā iwi katoa kua heke mai ki Aotearoa nei. Ki au, ko tō tātou reo rangatira te tino taonga o ngā mea katoa,” hei tā Tākuta Sharples.
“Mā te rongo i tō tātou reo, ka rongo ai te tangata i te wairua, i te mana o ō tātou tīpuna, me te hōhonutanga, te whānuitanga, te teiteitanga hoki o ā tātou kōrero tuku iho,” hei tāna anō. “Ka mōhio ai te ao, ko wai tātou, nā wai tātou, nō hea tātou, ā, e ahu ana tātou ki hea. Tērā ka kīa, ko tō tātou reo Māori te tino tohu o tō tātou mana Māori motuhake.
“I te tīmatanga o te Wā o te Reo Māori i te tau 1972, ka kawa ngā whakaaro o ētahi mō te reo Māori. E whakapaetia ana, ka rāwa a tauiwi i te whāngaitia ki te reo Māori.
“Ināianei, kua kite te nuinga i te pai o te reo hei kaupapa whakakotahi i ngā iwi o te motu i runga i te whakaaro kotahi, he mea tākoha ki ngā tāngata e hiahia ana ki te ako.
“Nō reira kei te mihi au ki ngā tangata, ki ngā whānau, ngā iwi Māori hoki kua pūmau ki te reo rangatira o ō rātou tīpuna. Kei te mihi ki te arohanui o te Māori ki ētahi atu iwi, kei te mihi hoki ki ngā tāngata, iwi kua whakarangatira i te taonga a ō tātou tīpuna, hei reo motuhake o Aotearoa whānui, ‘hei tikitiki mo ō tātou māhunga’.”
“Māori have shared a great deal of their heritage with other peoples who have migrated to Aotearoa, and to me, the greatest of these gifts is our language,” said Dr Sharples.
“With understanding of our language, people can feel the spirit and mana of our ancestors, and the breadth, depth and richness of our traditions and histories,” he added. “The world can know who we are, what are our origins, and where we are heading. Our language can be seen as the key marker of our unique Māori identity.
“When Māori Language Week began in 1972, some people objected to our language being ‘forced down the throats’ of other people.
“Nowadays, more and more people see value in the language as a basis for uniting all the peoples of Aotearoa in shared understanding, and as a gift offered to those who want to learn.
“I salute all those individuals, whanau and iwi who have held fast to the noble language of their ancestors. I acknowledge the generosity of Māori towards other peoples, and I congratulate all the people of Aotearoa who have given appropriate status to the language of our ancestors, as a distinctive language of the nation, and as a symbol of our national pride.”
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