Scotty Morrison on the future of te reo Māori In Aotearoa
Professor Scotty Morrison (Ngāti
Whakaue) has to be one of the busiest people in New Zealand media.
Between writing his hugely popular Māori language guide books, presenting the longest-running Māori current affairs programme, Te Karere, on TVNZ, and teaching te reo with his wife, Stacey Morrison, he also works with prison rehabilitation programmes, giving talks (and occasionally signing copies of his bestselling book Māori Made Easy).
It’s no surprise that Morrison’s favourite whakatauki, “Me uupoko pakaru te karawhiu” which roughly translates to “give it heaps” was spoken by Rangitihi, one of his ancestors. Living life with no brakes is in his blood.
His drive to teach and promote the use of te reo around the motu stems from his own te ao Māori journey. Unlike his three tamariki who grew up speaking te reo at home, Morrison didn’t start learning the language until he started university.
“It is life changing. I've seen many examples of people, Māori and non Māori, who talk about the transformative powers of te reo and once they start learning, it changes their whole life. It changes attitudes, it changes behaviour and it changes the principles that you live by. Of course, with Māori it connects them back to their ancestors and spirituality and things that have been missing through colonisation, but they start to regain it when they start to learn the language. A lot of prisoners, I think the avenue for them to rehabilitate themselves is to learn the language and
reconnect with all of their traditional narratives that inform them of correct behaviour, which they haven’t been taught.”
Morrison is equally passionate about non-Māori learning and normalising the language - no matter how small. It’s as
simple as choosing to pronounce a Māori place name correctly, greeting your colleagues with “mōrena”, or learning how to order your coffee. Morrison’s baristas know his usual, he pango roa māku (long black) now, and they always greet him with “kia ora” and “kei te pēhea koe?”
The latest edition of Morrison’s language books, the Māori Made Easy Pocket Guide, is full of essential greetings, phrases and tikanga (Māori customary practices or behaviours) for everyday use – and it’s designed to be taken with you anywhere.
Even in the current political climate, where some people in power are questioning the value of te reo Māori in schools and organisations, Morrison is optimistic about the future of the language.
“We in our generation have this wonderful opportunity to build on the great work that's been done over the last 40 years. I think the momentum has already been created across the majority of the population here in Aotearoa... It doesn't matter what the government does, they might stymie things for the next three years or they might put, you know, dams up to stop the flow, but eventually that flow will carry on. You know what happens when you swim against the tide? That doesn't really work.
“Te reo Māori is our point of difference, it's our identity on the world stage. So we should be celebrating that and supporting that, and we should be utilising our superpower as what makes us who we are.”