Rawinia HigginsRawinia Higgins

Professor Rawinia Higgins (Ngāi Tūhoe) is the Māori Language Commissioner at Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Māori) of Victoria University of Wellington. She was 2018's Wellingtonian of the Year for education.

We’re not being too PC about te reo Māori. We’re worried

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New Zealand’s first language is endangered. We can’t afford to normalise misspelling and mispronunciation any more than it already is, writes Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins. If it really was just a joke, then why did some respond with racism? One of our most well-known food companies, Watties, launched a campaign recently that deliberately misspelled … Read more

Mangling Māori names is no longer ‘the way it is’

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Summer reissue: Calls to Marcus Lush’s Newstalk ZB show defending the incorrect pronunciation of Māori place names in Otago have been captured and shared by angry listeners. Should we despair at the callers’ attitudes, or celebrate the popular response, asks Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins First published 29 October, 2019. “It’s the way it is.” … Read more

Marcus Lush is on the right side of history. Mangling Māori names is no longer ‘the way it is’

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Calls to Marcus Lush’s Newstalk ZB show defending the incorrect pronunciation of Māori place names in Otago have been captured and shared by angry listeners. Should we despair at the callers’ attitudes, or celebrate the popular response, asks Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins It’s the way it is. These are the words a caller to … Read more