A Māori Language Week parade in Wellington in September 2019. Photo / RNZ
By RNZ
The Māori Language Commissioner hopes more people will take part in a special Māori Language Week moment on Thursday at midday.
Today marks the start of Māori Language Week, and it has been 51 years since Parliament was petitioned to teach the Māori language in schools.
Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins told Morning Report it was “wonderful” seeing all the pledges of how people were marking the Māori Language Week moment on their website.
“We’re trying to gather as many people speaking, listening, singing, doing a little bit towards te reo Māori just to show their support for the language.”
Higgins said there had been already a variety of different activities pledged.
“Different community groups are doing lots of waiata, lots of haka ... schools are planning their own Māori language markets.”
Getting people engaged and taking the step to have a go at it were some of the challenges to reaching one million speakers by 2040, she said.
“Language revitalisation is a three-generational approach and so we have to start now to engender that kind of desire to want to be connected to the language as a sign of being connected to this place.
“[We need to] shepherd them through to hopefully being confident and being able to speak and use te reo Māori as often as possible.
“It takes one generation to lose a language and it takes three generations to restore.”
Higgins said 25 per cent of Māori children can now speak the language which is a result of efforts to revitalise Māori.
“I think I can see the effects of the movement and we’re really proud that communities are getting behind us this year to celebrate te reo Māori.”
The new law will be hard for Northland's sole-charge officers, Police Association says.