Te reo is on ‘life support’, so who will save it?
A leading Ma¯ ori language academic says te reo is ‘‘on life support’’ and government efforts to date aren’t having the desired effect but the country is at odds over who will save the Ma¯ ori language.
A year ago, then-Prime Minister Bill English spoke for three minutes in te reo. He was attending annual celebrations at Ra¯ tana, and wholly upstaged then Labour leader Andrew Little with his Ma¯ ori language fluency.
Then on Tuesday, English told the AM Show: ‘‘You can’t rely on a Government and a bureaucracy to save someone else’s language.’’
His comments caused a backlash, with people saying there was a collective responsibility to revitalise the language.
English says while Kiwis embrace te reo and Ma¯ ori culture as part of their identity, Ma¯ ori would be the ones to save te reo; ‘‘native speakers are the ones who can hand it on’’.
How dire is the state of Aotearoa’s indigenous language, and whose responsibility is it to save te reo?
THE STATE OF TE REO
AUT history professor Paul Moon said the current approach to passing on te reo (in schools) wasn’t the natural way to learn a language.
‘‘[It’s] basically waving the white flag, and saying the natural way by which languages survive doesn’t work, so we’re putting this on life support…
‘‘You can have a life support system go on for decades but it’s just not good enough. If you’re serious about the language you have to do something that’s going to revive it, not just keep the pulse beating, but not much more.’’
Moon’s analogy isn’t far wrong statistics show te reo is alive but not currently flourishing.
In the 2013, census 21.3 per cent of the Ma¯ ori population said they were fluent in te reo, with just 3.73 per cent of the total population saying they could hold a conversation in te reo about everyday things.
These rates were lower than the previous three censuses.
Meanwhile, The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has described te reo as vulnerable, in its atlas of endangered languages.
And UNESCO estimates 43 per cent of the 6000 languages spoken around the world will be extinct by the end of the century.
Former Ma¯ ori Development Minister and Ma¯ ori Party leader Te Ururoa Flavell said te reo had been ‘‘in a precarious state for some time’’, and something drastic needed to be done to make sure the language isn’t lost.
Moon said current efforts would continue to keep the language alive in a ceremonial sense; it would be spoken on the marae, in classrooms, and snippets – like greetings – would be used in everyday situations.
However, that would not be enough to have the language used in a popular way – in everyday conversation and interactions in school, workplaces, shops, and social occasions.
By some definitions, the language was already dead; in the same way Latin was spoken by thousands of people but was technically a dead language, he said.
English said he was more optimistic, based on his interactions with te reo speakers. While the numbers didn’t tell a good story, he expected the 2018 census results would show an improvement.
Meanwhile, Ma¯ ori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the figures quickly increased after taking into account those who had a basic knowledge and conversational fluency.
‘‘There’s no doubt we have a huge challenge in New Zealand to ensure te reo Ma¯ ori continues to live and thrive,’’ she said.
‘‘But the main aspiration has to be that te reo Ma¯ ori continues to
‘‘...for it to be a living, thriving, flourishing, growing language, we need to be speaking more of it.’’
Ma¯ ori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta
be an accessible language for all New Zealanders who are proud about their country, and identity as a country, and the fact we have an indigenous people who really want to show the best of what we have as a country, and language is a good way to convey that.’’
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
English’s comments left a sour taste for many who see te reo as Aotearoa’s language, not ‘‘someone else’s language’’.
Moon said English’s choice of words were ‘‘unfortunate’’, especially when society was trying to promote the values of being ‘‘one people, with equal rights’’.
Following Tuesday’s comments, English said he believed te reo and Ma¯ ori culture was part of all Kiwis’ identities. And while government could help make the language more accessible, and continue to meet its obligations under the Treaty, it could not compel people to speak a language.
‘‘The government can’t substitute bureaucratic machinery for a community who wants to speak it.’’
When the former government devised the current te reo strategy and brought the Ma¯ ori Language Act into force, under former Ma¯ ori development ministers Pita Sharples and Te Ururoa Flavell, the Ma¯ ori community said it felt a lot of the resources had been used up by bureaucracy, with not much to show for it.
The governance relating to Ma¯ ori language was now split between the crown and the Ma¯ ori community through the establishment of Te Ma¯ ta¯ wai.
Mahuta said while there was a commitment from government to ensure the indigenous language of New Zealand was able to be protected, fostered and supported, ‘‘at the end of the day households and families can do a lot to encourage te reo Ma¯ ori’’.
‘‘If you really want to keep a language alive it really has to be embraced in the family context, and anything else that happens out in society, through our school system, what government does, is in addition to what must be kaupapa with families growing up.’’
IS THE CURRENT APPROACH WORKING?
Moon said the current approach meant ceremonial Ma¯ ori, and te reo within the classroom, would continue to live on.
However, fluency passed down in the home, as a first language, was the only way to revive the language, and have it used in a popular way.
Languages weren’t saved through bilingual signage, a widespread use of common greetings, and compulsory teaching, he said.
Moon cited the results in Ireland, Wales and Luxembourg, saying the compulsory approach to native languages hadn’t worked there, so was unlikely to work in New Zealand.
People needed incentives to decide to speak a language.
Mahuta said the type of career incentives Moon referred to already existed. Iwi and corporate organisations were advertising for people who spoke te reo.
‘‘This isn’t just within the Ma¯ ori world, it’s across various organisations and companies.’’
Beyond that, te reo had become an increasing part of New Zealand music, films, and theatre.
Ma¯ ori and lovers of the language still had a challenge when it came to increasing the ways conversational Ma¯ ori could be used throughout society, Mahuta said.
‘‘The point of it all is, like any language, for it to be a living, thriving, flourishing, growing language, we need to be speaking more of it.
‘‘And for Ma¯ ori, rather than putting the full emphasis on fluent speakers, it’s about opening up the doors and the windows for those people who want to learn and promote, and speak at a conversational level.’’
WHAT WILL GOVERNMENT DO?
Despite Mahuta’s belief that the Ma¯ ori community needed to lead the charge, in their homes, with support from the likes of Te
Ma¯ ta¯ wai, the Labour-led Government still had specific policy plans in place relating to Ma¯ ori.
By 2025 Labour promised to have te reo integrated into all early childhood education centres, primary schools and intermediates.
That meant attracting and training more teachers who spoke te reo.
All sides of the divide, including Moon, acknowledged the success of ko¯ hanga reo (early childhood education), and Ma¯ ori language medium and immersion schools and institutions.
The number of ko¯ hanga reo was about 50 per cent fewer than in the movement’s heyday in the late 90s. While the numbers were stabilising, Moon said more funding was needed for the immersion schools.
Mahuta said the Government was currently in conversation with the Ko¯ hanga Reo Trust over its Treaty claim against the Crown – part of which related to access to funding.
Government also continued to fund Ma¯ ori Television, and Ma¯ ori language radio stations.
The Green Party and Ma¯ ori Party have both advocated for making te reo a compulsory subject in schools - something which Moon says hasn’t had the desired effect in other countries.
But Flavell said he understood the resources were not yet available for this to be a viable option at this stage.
Meanwhile, National has drafted a private members bill, where all year 1-8 students would have access to learning a second language.
Part of the proposed $160 million policy, would see the Education Minister set a list of 10 priority languages, including te reo Ma¯ ori, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), alongside the likes of Mandarin, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean.