Viewers moved by Maori language
Am I the only one or are there others who got annoyed with Moving Out
With Tamati? We started watching the first programme and then realised that it was going to be full of te reo M ori with captions. Why does a supposedly ordinary programme about people moving house have to be full of te reo M ori? Is it because Tamati is presenting it? If so, why isn’t it shown on M ori Television? There is a definite place for te reo in our society, but why does it have to be shoved in our face on a non-M ori channel? We have stopped watching it and now look at other channels at that time. It’s a pity, as we enjoy those moving-house-type programmes. Brian Burton (Pukekohe)
Moving Out With Tamati is primetime television on a Saturday night and I’m not appreciating the M ori commentary, even though there are English subtitles. This is an interesting programme but I really would appreciate the whole commentary to be in English. If I want to view a M ori programme then I can tune into M ori TV. There are three official languages here in New Zealand – English, Maori and Sign – but the majority speak English. Some of us know some M ori words or bits of sign language and if we want to know more then we can go to classes to further our education. When a commentary is on primetime TV then please do it in English and have the subtitles in Sign and M ori. That way everyone wins. Joce Matthews (New Plymouth)
I have really enjoyed the new series
Moving Out with Tamati – especially the use of te reo M ori (yes I am a Pakeha). It’s about time we added more of the national language into our everyday lives. If we did more of this then we wouldn’t need a separate channel for all things M ori and the government could instead put more money into local programming or, for that matter, programmes on TVNZ that aren’t just reality TV and repeats. C Sweet (Auckland)
Having been born and bred in Auckland but finally seeing the light and getting out of the rat race years ago, I was really looking forward to watching Moving Out With Tamati – until he started talking in M ori. Although there are subtitles, they are too quick. Why is this programme not on the M ori channel? Isn’t that what it is for? I have now tuned out as I am sick to death of TVNZ going overboard with M ori these days. DGS (Taranaki)
TVNZ 1 responds: We’re very proud of our dedicated M ori language content and we embrace the everyday use of te reo M ori in TVNZ’s broader local content offering. TVNZ is committed to having a strong mix of different voices represented onscreen across our programming as we aim to reflect the increasing diversity of New Zealand society on screen. Mr Telly responds: Moving Out With Tamati is funded by the M ori broadcasting funding agency Te M ngai P ho to the tune of $420,000 for 10 episodes.