29 July 2008
Media Release
Maori Language Week 2008 makes a mark
Maori Language Week 2008 makes a mark
It was hard to miss that last week was Maori Language Week. Maori Language Week was celebrated at an unprecedented level this year. “Maori Language Week was on all television channels, radio stations and print media throughout the country. More than 430 hits have been recorded on Maori language media coverage this month”, says
“Our office has been overwhelmed with positive and encouraging feedback about the coverage of Maori Language Week this year, with many saying it would be great to have this every week of the year. That is our next challenge to have this level of Maori language broadcasting as the norm for Aotearoa,” says Huhana. Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori are offering a prize for completing the Maori Language Week 2008 survey online at www.koreromaori.co.nz.
Maori Language Week 2008 heralded the launch of two digital resources for te reo Maori speakers - “He Pataka Kupu” and Google Maori. “He Pataka Kupu” - the largest online monolingual dictionary launched by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori has exceeded expectations with the number of searches in the first 24 hours of launching.
Google Maori, the Maori interface of Google was released by Potaua and Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule of TangataWhenua.com and the many translators who worked on the project over the years. “I acknowledge all whanau, communities and organisations that joined in this year to honour and celebrate our indigenous language. It is through our collective efforts that the presence and status of te reo Maori reached new heights this year,” says Huhana.
Maori Language Week awards are being held Friday, 12 September. For more information go to www.koreromaori.co.nz/news/mlw/awards
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Contact: Nicky Cockburn Birch
021 475 782