By BRONWYN SELL
Maori language advocates are worried that pupils in Maori immersion schools are dropping the language as soon as they get home from school.
They say that unless resources go into bringing te reo into the home, the future of the Maori language will be jeopardised.
"If that doesn't occur, we might as well wave it goodbye," says Paora Howe, social policy branch manager for Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori Development).
In many homes, English language television and computer games take over and children start speaking to their families in English, says a Massey University researcher, Ian Christensen.
The university's Maori language academics yesterday outlined their ongoing research.
Mr Christensen, a senior lecturer, says one of the biggest problems is that for many of the present generation of parents, Maori is a second language.
"They missed out on the language when they were growing up, and it's quite difficult to turn a language that you've learned into a language that you use naturally and spontaneously."
He says many parents are trying to reverse the loss of the language in their children's generation by sending them to Maori language schools, but some children are leaving te reo at the door when they get home.
Mr Howe says the ministry has been looking at fostering Maori language use in homes for a few years.
"We've always been of the view that revitalising [of the Maori language] must occur at a whanau level and it must be inter-generational."
He says good work is being done in the area, but it is not wide-reaching enough and is insufficiently funded.
"There's also the larger issue of changing people's attitudes, both Maori and non-Maori, to the language."
Mr Christensen says people are also often reluctant to speak Maori in public because they feel uncomfortable.
Pupils dropping Maori with their schoolbags
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