Te Reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa, New Zealand. It is an official language of New Zealand and is central to Māori culture, identity and forms part of the heritage of our country. Every year since 1975, Aotearoa New Zealand has celebrated Māori Language Week.
This week is Māori Language Week - an annual celebration held in the third week of September. The initiative, also called ‘Te Wiki o te Reo Māori,’ aims to inspire all New Zealanders to speak the Māori language proudly. Learning Te Reo Māori assists with building relationships with tangata whenua.
The celebration this year is extra special, as 14 September marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language petition that was presented to Parliament in 1972. As we genuinely value different languages as representations of cultures and communities, we are excited to join all New Zealanders in celebrating the Māori language.
I encourage all of you to take this week as an opportunity to make te reo Māori welcome and use it in your life, work, and community. It will also be great to embrace te reo Māori all year round and keep improving your language.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of te Petihana Reo Māori, there are plenty of 2022 events, ideas and resources on the Reo Maori website.
Below are some useful links for te reo Māori resources:
- Te Taura Whiri I Te Reo Māori | Māori Language Commission resources
- Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education resources
- Massey University Toro Mai – Two free introductory online courses on te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.
- 365 common Māori words – This page includes the Māori translation for everyday words - everything from food and drink to sports and holidays. It has an audio file of each word to support pronunciation.
“Poipoia te kākano, kia puāwai.” – Nurture the seed, and it will blossom. So, start improving your te reo today!