Te reo Ma¯ori - it’s part of our identity

For me learning te reo Ma¯ori is a privilege – especially as Ngati Pa¯keha¯. And to be taught about such an important and beautiful reo (language) and ahurea (culture) that has greatly shaped – and continues to shape – this country is a privilege I believe all Kiwis should be afforded.

When I started attending beginner reo classes with Te Wa¯nanga o Aotearoa in March, I was someone who said Ackarowa (Akaroa), Kye-cora (Kaiko¯ura) and Om-aroo (O¯amaru) 75 per cent of the time, as that was my default.

I wanted to be accurate and respectful, but it was a habit of a lifetime and I was nervous about attempting the correct pronunciations and screwing them up. And – while I don’t like to admit it – I was lazy.

While at primary school in tautahi (Christchurch) in the early 1990s, I learnt a small amount of reo Ma¯ori and once stayed on a marae for a few days. But that’s where my token reo and tikanga (custom) education ended.

I gave it little thought until a few years ago when I started to realise just how ignorant I was about such a massive part of my country’s – and therefore my – identity. I was ashamed.

After returning from a life overseas, this year was the year I set about changing my ways.

Ma¯ori is a relatively easy reo to learn. After six months of level two Certificate in Te Ara Reo Ma¯ori akomanga (classes), it seems to me to be logical – much easier than the oft inexplicable English. For starters there are just five vowels and 10 consonants and every letter you see is pronounced.

My 431 fellow tauira (students) in tautahi span every ethnicity, age and walks of life. We are all treated the same and encourage each other, led by our passionate and supportive kaiako (teachers) and kaia¯whina (teaching assistants) who make it both rewarding and fun.

There’s some sort of saying out there about learning being a journey and, while I still have a couple more months until the course is complete, fitting in three hours of class a week, noho marae (marae stays) and wa¯nanga (forums) around a demanding work schedule and other commitments has, at times, been a battle.

But the kaiako and kaia¯whina want us to achieve and do their best to see us right – even when we don’t do our homework.

Ma¯ori is one of two official spoken languages of Aotearoa, and while it often doesn’t seem to be treated as so, I amone of 3850 tauira in 32 towns and cities studying te wa¯nanga level two course this year. Student numbers are up almost 60 per cent on five years ago.

And that’s just the wa¯nanga, let alone all the other tertiary institutes and kura (schools) offering lessons. Te reo Ma¯ori is in good hands.

‘‘Ko te reo to taikura o te whakaao ma¯rama – The language is the key to understanding.’’

And, as a side note on understanding, Stuff has just adopted the use of macrons on Ma¯ori words. For those who aren’t so sure about their importance, I present to you one case study: ta¯ra means dollar, while tara means vagina. Macrons matter.

❚ Jo Gilbert is a news director in Stuff’s Waitaha (Canterbury) newsroom.