Te reo's long journey continues

By RENEE KIRIONA

The Maori language has had a long journey - all the way from the hills of Vietnam and Cambodia - and will continue to evolve, says Maori Language Commissioner Patu Hohepa.

The origins of the language, celebrated today with Maori Language Day, go back more than 30,000 years, said Dr Hohepa. "The origins of the Maori language are just as old as that of the English. It didn't just begin when we [Maori] landed here."

The language came from a family that covered one-third of the globe, most of it water, from Vietnam and Cambodia to Taiwan, the Philippines, through Indonesia, Malaysia, and south to Madagascar, he said.

"We are the stream of people that spread through the world - we are out of Africa and made in Taiwan.

"All languages change over time and 30 to 40,000 years on there are still markers that prove that te reo is related to others in the Pacific and beyond."

While some people were concerned about the language being modernised, he said, that had to happen for it to evolve.

"The only language that doesn't change is a dead language. Te reo has changed with the times because of globalisation and that's okay so long as it is not being defined by another culture."

The Maori Language Commission wants some of the country's best-known features to be known by their original Maori names.

The head of the commission, Haami Piripi, is also encouraging people whose Maori names were changed because they were considered too hard for others to pronounce, to start using them again.

The commission's call for more recognition for Maori place names was made in its submission on the review of the New Zealand Geographic Board Act.

"Maori culture is rich with knowledge but we are not utilising that in our country," said Mr Piripi.

"Some people say it is linguistically impossible for them to use Maori names, that it's too hard to pronounce a five-syllable word but I reckon it all goes back to their attitude about the language."

Among the places he wants known by their Maori names are Te One Roa A Tohe (Ninety Mile Beach), Turanga (Gisborne) and Aotearoa (New Zealand).

The Geographic Board's policy now gives preference to original Maori names. Dual naming has been used for the past 80 years with the Maori name following the English version, but in the recent past the board has put the Maori name first.

About 25 per cent of the Maori population speak te reo at a reasonable level, and 9 per cent rate themselves as fluent.

About 1 per cent of non-Maori speak the language.