Positive responses to more te reo

After a week of slipping more te reo Māori into my everyday conversations I can happily report I had zero negative reactions, and plenty of positive ones.

Many of my colleagues have joined the challenge too, and begun to incorporate more Māori into their work environment.

This ranged from a simple “ata mārie” or “mo¯rena” in the morning, to starting interviews with “kia ora” or “te¯nā kow”, to signing off emails with “ngā mihi nui”.

The most difficult part was persistence. Some days speaking te reo came more naturally than others. Some days the busy day got in the way, when I was rushed and under pressure, and te reo slipped to the back of my mind.

Like learning any language, it can be difficult to keep up when you are not immersed in it. But, as I picked up in an interview this week, to really progress you need to seek out others who are on a similar path.

As reported this week, there has been huge growth in learner speakers, but there is still a decline in those continuing on to fluency.

There are enormous benefits to learning any language, from developing neurological pathways to understanding different worldviews, but in Aotearoa te reo Ma¯ ori has countless more.

From learning about an incredible culture, different histories, to bridging the country’s racial tensions and enhancing understanding around our founding document — Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Clearly the desire is there, but to get to that point it will take a little more than a simple “kia ora”, here and there. Time to do the mahi.

Kia kaha te reo Māori.

● Our Māori Affairs reporter, Michael Neilson, set himself a challenge to learn as much te reo as he could in a week and use the language whenever possible.