Today The Spinoff launches Ako, a new series made in partnership with Spark NZ to highlight their Kupu app, with a piece introducing three very different te reo Māori learners. Despite being indigenous to Aotearoa, the history of te reo Māori is a fraught one – it wasn’t until the late 1980s that it was … Read more
Start learning te reo Māori anywhere in Aotearoa with this list of introductory, part-time classes. ‘Learn te reo Māori’ is at the top of a lot of people’s New Year’s resolutions. The problem is, it can be hard to enrol after the new year, which is typically when resolutions are meant to be resolved. Many … Read more
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down. I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, that’s not the … Read more
In June 2018, Rawinia Higgins was appointed chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. She’s the first woman and the first te reo Māori second-language speaker to hold the role, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, she sat down with The Spinoff to talk about her life. “You can’t do a … Read more
Whaea Kaa Williams is a lecturer in te reo Māori at Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa. She remembers a time when she wasn’t allowed to speak te reo Māori “past the front gate.” Cornell Tukiri: Mōrena, could you tell me a little about yourself? Kaa Williams: I am now at … Read more
A new version of Bic Runga’s classic single ‘Sway’ is among the tracks on Waiata/Anthems, a compilation of te reo Māori versions of hit New Zealand songs. Runga spoke to Alice Webb-Liddall about how recording ‘Haere Mai Rā/Sway’ helped her reconnect with her whakapapa. Bic Runga’s father Joseph was a Māori ex-serviceman whom Runga and … Read more
Cornell Tukiri sat down with his Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa classmate Te Karere to talk about his relationship with te reo Māori, and what the language revival means for his whānau. Cornell Tukiri: Mōrena, why don’t we start with you telling me a little about yourself? Te Karere: Ko … Read more
After a decade of making music, Sons of Zion are still refusing to settle into a genre. They sit down to talk about the joys of pop music and te reo Māori, and why a “reggae” band can do both. In 2009 Sons of Zion released their debut album, a self-titled fusion of rock, R&B, … Read more
When Don Brash was invited onto national television to speak about Māori language week this year, I decided I could speak about almost anything, writes Madeleine Chapman. This post was first published 10 September 2018. There are plenty of uninformed takes to be heard on the radio. People call into talkback and air an opinion … Read more
This is the te reo journey of one very colonised Māori, writes journalist Meriana Johnsen. In one of our te reo classes, we had to choose a whakataukī that resonated with us. I chose: Ko taku reo, taku ohooho, ko taku reo, taku mapihi mauria. My language is my awakening, my language is the window … Read more
Nichole Brown shares her love of te reo Māori and her hope that together, we can turn Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori into a lifelong celebration for our tamariki. This week marks another Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week – and as much as we would love a nation united in … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Māori language week starts te reo teaching conversation, Tax Working Group looking likely to reject capital gains tax, and landlords propose alternative to rental WOFs. So what exactly is the government’s te reo Māori education policy? As Māori Language Week has got underway, that’s been a … Read more
What if there was a way you could show your willingness to kōrero Māori with others in public? Leonie Hayden talks to the brains behind a range of t-shirts, jumpers and badges letting people know the wearer can, or wants to, speak to others in te reo Māori. For Paul Andersen (Ngāti Raukawa) the challenge presented … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM starts new week after three on the back foot, Herald launches economic inequality series, and huge house building programme announced for Mt Roskill. The Prime Minister starts the week after a few that she’d probably rather forget. Three weeks in a row now have finished with … Read more
The tohutō (macron) is an important and powerful part of te reo Māori. Simon Day explains how to use it. The macron matters. The use of the tohutō is essential for the pronunciation, meaning, and status of te reo Māori. When you see a vowel with its hat on it means the sound is held … Read more
The tohutō (macron) is an important and powerful part of te reo Māori. Simon Day explains how to use it. The macron matters. The use of the tohutō is essential for the pronunciation, meaning, and status of te reo Māori. When you see a vowel with its hat on it means the sound is held … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: journalist Shilo Kino (Tainui, Ngāpuhi) writes about finding her way home through studying Mandarin. I was a visitor even though it was ‘my’ marae. I watched my mother kneel down, mumble something … Read more
What’s in a name? Only everything, writes Miriama Kamo. I didn’t always love my name. When I was in primary I used to wish I was called Lisa or Michelle, something easy that didn’t raise eyebrows. As I recall this, another memory comes to mind. I remember plucking a flower from a tree on the … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: RNZ Morning Report host Guyon Espiner writes about fighting the ‘whitelash’. When I started learning te reo Māori in earnest this year I had one main fear: humiliation. I expected that Pākeha … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: musician Anna Coddington (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) writes about doing it for your tamariki. My journey into learning te reo Māori begins like many of my generation: a grandparent punished for speaking … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: entrepreneur Derek Handley lays down a wero for others. If you really want something, making a public commitment to that goal can be one of the most effective ways to get there. … Read more