Hei tuku i naianei
31 o Hongongoi 2007
(Please see below for English language version)
1 Here-turi-koka 2007 - kua eke nga tau o te Ture Reo Maori ki te rua tekau
E rua tekau tau ki muri, i puta te reo Maori hei reo whai mana ki Aotearoa me te rite hoki o ona tau ki Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, te Komihana Reo Maori.
E ai ki te Toihau, a Erima Henare, i whakaturia te Komihana i raro i te Ture Reo Maori 1987, ki te whakatairanga i te reo Mäori hei reo e poipoia ana e te ngutu tängata, hei reo e whakamahia ana hei kawe i ngä whakaaro ia ra.
I runga i te angitu o nga mahi whakanui i Te Wiki o te Reo Maori me Matariki (te tau hou Maori), kua kitea tetahi pumautanga hou e puta ake ana ki waenganui i nga tangata katoa o Aotearoa, ki te kaha uru ki nga mahi whakaora i te reo, te korero a Erima Henare.
No te ekenga ki tenei o nga tohu nui, e tika ana kia hoki nga mahara, kia puta hoki nga whakamihi ki te hunga o nga tau 1970 i huri ki te whakapuaki ano i to ratou tuakiri Maori ake. Na to ratou maia me to ratou hautoa, i timata ai te mahi whakaako i te reo Maori ki roto i nga wharekura, i timata ai nga tauira ako Maori, a, i whai mana ai hoki te reo Maori.
Ko nga tino ropu o taua wa, ko nga ropu pera ki a Nga Tamatoa ma, na ratou nei i whakatakoto te petihana ki te aroaro o te Whare Paremata me te tono kia whakaritea he akoranga reo Maori ki roto i nga kura. No te tau 1986, i tapaetia te Kereme Reo Maori e Nga Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo Maori, ki te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, a, na runga i tenei, i tu ai te Ture Reo Maori.
Heoi ano ra, kaore i tua atu i nga kohanga reo mo te tino mahi ki te kawe i nga mahi whakaora i te reo. I enei ra, nui ake nga putahi matauranga e hangai ana ki te whakaora i te reo Maori, tae noa ki nga Kura Kaupapa me nga Whare Wananga, te ki a Henare.
Ko te ao papaho ano hoki tetahi e whai kawenga ana i roto i nga mahi whakaora reo na runga i te putanga o nga reo irirangi a-iwi me nga hotaka whakaata Maori. I te tau 2008, ka kitea e Aotearoa te whakamanutanga o tetahi hongere whakaata e papaho ana i roto i te reo Maori anake.
“Kua puta noa te rongo ki te ao mo te mahi haka a nga Pango Katoa hei tohu i te kohure, te ahurea me te taonga tuku iho o Aotearoa,” te ki a Henare.
Ahakoa e whakaatu ana nga whakakitenga i roto i te rangahau o nga ra tata nei mo te piki o te ora o te reo Maori, e whakatupato ana a Henare kia kaua tatou e kiriora. Ahakoa te aranga ake ano, he mea nui kia kaha tonu te reo Maori ki nga whakatipuranga katoa, tae noa ki te haere tonu o te tautoko a te hapori whanui o Aotearoa.
Ka mutu
Mo te roanga ake o nga korero: Lana Simmons-Donaldson, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, lana@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz 04 471 6724, 027 457 4551
Media statement
For immediate release
31 July 2007
1 August 2007 - Maori Language Act turns 20
Maori language became an official language of Aotearoa 20 years ago and shares its birthday with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission. 04 471 6724, 027 457 4551
Commission Chair Erima Henare says the Commission was established under the Maori Language Act 1987, to promote the use of Maori as a living language and as an ordinary means of communication.
“The success of this year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori (Maori Language Week) and Matariki (Maori New Year) celebrations has demonstrated a renewed commitment from all New Zealanders to play an active part in revitalisation efforts,” says Henare.
Henare says reaching this milestone is a time to reflect and pay homage to the many people who in the 1970s reasserted their identity as Maori. “Their courage and activism was the catalyst for Maori language to be taught in schools, the introduction of Maori learning models and of reo Maori gaining official status.”
Of particular note were groups like, Nga Tamatoa who petitioned parliament in 1972 to provide Maori language courses in schools. Later in 1986, it was the group Nga Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo Maori who submitted the Te Reo Maori Claim to the Waitangi Tribunal that resulted in the Maori Language Act being established.
“However, there is no doubt that the establishment of kohanga reo has played the most significant role in reviving the language. Today there are many other educational institutions working to regenerate te reo Maori including Kura Kaupapa and Whare Wananga,” says Henare.
Broadcasting is also playing a critical role in language revitalisation, with the emergence of iwi radio stations and Maori television programming. In 2008, New Zealand will also see the launch of its first 100% te reo Maori television channel.
“The use of the haka performed by the All Blacks has gained world-wide acclaim as a symbol of New Zealand distinctiveness, culture and heritage,” says Henare.
Although recent survey results suggest an increase in the health of the Maori language Henare forewarns complacency. “Although there is a resurgence of te reo Maori, a critical mass of fluent speakers of all ages is needed, as well as the continued support of the wider New Zealand community”.
ENDS
For more information: Lana Simmons-Donaldson, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori