MĀORI LANGUAGE DECLINE AND REVITALISATION
By Pip Bennett
For all people, language forms an important part of culture, and plays a crucial role in daily life as a means of effective communication. The Māori language is described as a taonga of the Māori people, a special possession or treasure. Unfortunately, since the arrival of tauiwi, or non-Māori, the Māori language (te reo ) has been put at risk. This is a trend that can be seen in most colonised countries which have indigenous cultures where, in particular, English has been imposed as the mainstream language, causing a loss of indigenous language. Examples of such countries are Australia, Canada, the United States, and many of the Pacific Islands such as Tahiti and Fiji. There are also examples where the people are not necessarily identified as indigenous (even though they are), such as in Wales, Ireland, and Spain.
The history of te reo and English
Initially in Aotearoa New Zealand, te reo was widely spoken by the Europeans, particularly in interaction with Māori, and by both Maori and European children. By the mid 1860’s, the Crown introduced legislation which began to enforce the growing assimilation attitude, with the Colonisers wanting Māori to be absorbed into the new colonial culture, and so the wearing away of the Māori people began. Māori land was removed, stolen, and its use restricted by the Crown. Schooling was enforced, first in te reo for Māori, but by 1910, in English only. Māori populations dwindled due to introduced diseases, war, and substandard living conditions. Urbanisation and the development of New Zealand’s independent economy after World War Two led to Māori leaving their rural homes, marae and whānau to work in cities. All of these factors greatly contributed to the decline of the Māori language.
How much language was lost?
The extent of the decline varies across different regions. The upper North Island, in places like Rūātoki and Northland which have higher Māori proportion retained greater levels of language for longer. Ngāti Kahungunu (Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa) reports that there are no longer any native speakers of their dialect .
Language Revitalisation
Māori language revitalisation has been a movement particularly strong since the mid 1970’s. The Ātaarangi Movement, Kōhanga Reo, and Kura Kaupapa were all established in the late 1970’s to mid 1980’s. The Māori Language Act 1987 established te reo as New Zealand’s first official language, as well as defining goals, expectations, and responsibilities of the Crown in respect to the language and its revitalisation.
Māori language surveys, carried out by Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) and Statistics New Zealand, seem to show that language levels are currently being retained, although this level is still less than ideal. Unfortunately though, there are few proficient speakers, with most of them aged over 50. Currently the focus is on the education sector but the use of language outside of school grounds is not controlled, and the Act cannot contribute to the production of fluent speakers, only regulate the level and quality of language (like how we learn grammar in English schools, to increase the diversity and skills of language we have).
Despite this, many people who support revitalisation still continue to place faith in the education system as the primary method. Nevertheless, as well as the fact that schools can only control language use inside of school grounds, other problems exist. For example, there are insufficient resources (particularly for teachers of specialist subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics), teachers with low quality language skills, and even when teachers are fluent there can be more problems, for example there aren’t well-circulated words for school subjects, so teachers often have to make them up (some of which don’t fit into the Māori language correctly), and also because many of the teachers are second language learners, which means they also have the influences of their first language which can destroy grammatical constructions.
So what’s the future?
The next 25 years have been identified as crucial to the revitalisation effort in raising the number of native speakers. The home and the community have been identified by agencies, such as Te Puni Kōkiri, as crucial to the survival of the language. If parents and whānau cannot ensure the Māori language is protected at home, revitalisation will not be a success because te reo is not protected at workplaces, mainstream schools, or in the media in our English-dominated world. It is important to remember that Māori need to determine their own needs and wants, and require space and support for this. Everyone has a part to play in the revitalisation of the Māori. It is a part of our heritage as well as our future, and its importance needs to be reflected in our life and activities, by for example, using te reo where possible, joining a te reo language club, or going to te reo classes. If it is not used, it will be lost.
LEARN MORE:
Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development)
Te Taura Whiri (Māori Language Commission)
Statistics New Zealand
TAKE ACTION:
If you want to be active in the revitalisation effort, try:
Korero Māori website
Website with info on Māori language and culture
Te Wānanga O Aotearoa where they offer many courses for te reo and tikanga, or any other polytech or university. Many polytechs offer free language courses.
