25 June 2008

Media Release

www.taranakireo.co.nz goes online

Te Reo o Taranaki has just recently gone online. In the 1980s Te Reo o Taranaki was established to focus on revitalising the mita of Taranaki reo within their communities. More than 20 years on, their emphasis is on inter-generational language transmission within the home, whanau and community.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori Commissioner Ruakere Hond was instrumental in the development of the Te Reo o Taranaki language strategy, and going online was one of many initiatives being implemented to regenerate and strengthen the passing on of Taranaki reo.

`Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori aims to increase support of Maori language community initiatives and organisations such as Te Reo o Taranaki. Community-level support is critical for the Maori language to become an ordinary, everyday language in Aotearoa´, says Huhana Rokx, Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori.

`While it is clear that we have halted the decline of Maori language in this country. There is still much to do. There is a need to capture, preserve and further develop tribal dialects, and that this is pivotal to the ongoing development of the language whanau, hapu and iwi. It is great to see iwi and hapu responding to this challenge like Te Reo o Taranaki has´, says Huhana Rokx.


Ends

Contact:
Nicky Cockburn Birch
021 475 782
nicky@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz