This week is the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo M\u0101ori. To celebrate, we\u2019re running a three-part series looking at the past, present and future of te reo M\u0101ori in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Ko t\u0113nei wiki te huritau rima tekau tau o te wiki o te reo M\u0101ori. Kua hinga rima tekau tau mai i te timatanga o he wiki hei whakanuia t\u014d t\u0101tou reo, te reo tuatahi o t\u0113nei whenua. Mai 1975 ki in\u0101ianei, piki te nama o ng\u0101 t\u0101ngata ka whakam\u0101rama i t\u014d t\u0101tou reo. He tohu pai t\u0113n\u0101, otir\u0101, kia tata te reo M\u0101ori ki te pito o te pari. He aha ai? Tuatahi, iti te nama o ng\u0101 t\u0101ngata M\u0101ori me ng\u0101 t\u0101ngata katoa o Aotearoa e whakaako ana, e k\u014drero ana t\u014d t\u0101tou reo. K\u014dira te manako nui m\u014d t\u0101tou katoa. I t\u0113nei wiki whakahirahira, ka p\u012brangi a \u0100tea ka ruku i te kaupapa o t\u014d t\u0101tou reo rangatira. He aha te h\u012btori o te reo? He aha te \u0101hua o te reo M\u0101ori in\u0101ianei? He aha te \u0101hua o te reo M\u0101ori \u0101 t\u014dna w\u0101? Koinei te k\u014drero tuatahi e p\u0101 ana ki er\u0101 p\u0101tai. Ko te kaupapa tuatahi: kia whakat\u014dmuri te haere whakamua.<\/p>\n
This week is the 50th anniversary of M\u0101ori Language Week. Fifty years have passed since the beginning of a week set aside to celebrate our language, the first language of this land. From 1975 until now, the number of people who understand and speak our language has increased. That is a good sign, yet at the same time, the M\u0101ori language is close to extinction. Why is that? Firstly, the number of M\u0101ori and of all New Zealanders who learn and speak our language is small. That is the great concern for us. In this important week, I want to dive into the subject of our treasured language. What is the history of the language? What is the state of the M\u0101ori language today? What will the M\u0101ori language look like in the future? This is the first piece that relates to those questions. The first theme? Looking backwards to move forward.<\/p>\n
Rangatahi M\u0101ori will make up one third of the country\u2019s population in the near future. (Image: New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga \/ https:\/\/teara.govt.nz\/en\/photograph\/34391\/kohanga-reo-1984)<\/p>\n
On October 8, 1769, James Cook and his entourage rowed ashore at T\u016branganui-a-Kiwa on the East Coast of Te Ika-a-M\u0101ui. There, they encountered a group of locals who had come to the beach to greet them. As is customary in M\u0101ori culture, a group of men were sent forward to perform a wero. Cook wrote in his journal that an attempt was made to persuade the man to \u201ccalm down\u201d. Unfortunately, the man continued to \u201cgesticulate and yell\u201d, causing unease among the crew of the Endeavour. He was shot dead a short time later. As far as records show, this was the first instance of English being spoken in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Before that fateful day, the only language spoken here by humans was te reo M\u0101ori. At that point in time, te reo M\u0101ori had been spoken exclusively by t\u0101ngata whenua for centuries. Studies show the language originates from the Austronesian family of languages and grew out of eastern Polynesian dialects, evolving uniquely in Aotearoa to reflect the land, environment and worldview of M\u0101ori. This branch also includes Hawaiian, Tahitian, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and the languages of the Cook Islands, the Marquesas, and R\u0113kohu\/Chatham Islands (Moriori). M\u0101ori and these languages share a large amount of vocabulary and grammar, reflecting a common ancestral language often referred to as Proto-Polynesian. Linguistically, te reo M\u0101ori is most closely related to Cook Islands M\u0101ori and Tahitian, with noticeable similarities in words and structure.<\/p>\n
As these early Polynesian settlers spread across the islands, their language adapted to the new environment, leading to distinct vocabulary \u2013 for native plants, birds, landscapes, etc \u2013 and a unique identity as te reo M\u0101ori. Over time, te reo developed regional dialects, such as those of Ng\u0101i T\u016bhoe, Ng\u0101puhi and Ng\u0101ti Porou, though they remained mutually intelligible. For centuries, te reo M\u0101ori remained an oral language, not written. However, there were many forms of storytelling within te ao M\u0101ori, including visual forms such as whakairo and tukutuku. Knowledge, history, whakapapa and cosmology were predominantly passed down through whakatauk\u012b, waiata and whakapapa recitations.<\/p>\n
From dominance to decline<\/p>\n
By the time missionaries arrived in the early 1800s, te reo M\u0101ori was not just the dominant language in Aotearoa, it was the language of the land. Traders, whalers and settlers quickly realised that to survive and thrive here, they needed to learn te reo. For several decades, M\u0101ori was the language of trade, negotiation and everyday life across large parts of the country.<\/p>\n
But the arrival of larger waves of British settlers in the mid-19th century shifted the balance. As colonial institutions of government, law and education spread, English increasingly became the language of power. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, signed in 1840, was written in both te reo M\u0101ori and English \u2013 yet the differences between the two texts became a source of lasting grievance. The English version was prioritised in law and administration, laying an early marker for the dominance of English over M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n
By the late 1800s, official policy was clear: te reo M\u0101ori was to be replaced by English. Schools established under the Native Schools Act of 1867 banned the use of te reo in classrooms. Children were punished \u2013 physically and psychologically \u2013 for speaking their own language. Generations grew up associating te reo with shame and inferiority.<\/p>\n
The impacts of this policy were devastating. In 1900, te reo M\u0101ori was still the primary language in most M\u0101ori communities. But by the middle of the 20th century, English had become dominant in nearly every public and private sphere. Urbanisation accelerated the decline. Large numbers of M\u0101ori moved to towns and cities in search of work, where English was essential and M\u0101ori communities were fragmented.<\/p>\n
By the 1970s, te reo M\u0101ori was on the brink. Census figures revealed a collapse in everyday use: from near-universal fluency among M\u0101ori in the early 1900s to fewer than 20% of M\u0101ori able to hold a conversation in the language by the mid-1970s. Linguists warned that without urgent action, te reo could disappear within a generation.<\/p>\n
The petition and the birth of M\u0101ori Language Week<\/p>\n
That crisis spurred action. In 1972, a group of young M\u0101ori, many of them students, presented a petition to parliament signed by more than 30,000 people. Their demand was simple but revolutionary: that te reo M\u0101ori be taught in schools.<\/p>\n
The petition sparked a wider national conversation. Three years later, in 1975, the first M\u0101ori Language Week was established. What began as a symbolic initiative to raise awareness has endured as an annual reminder of both the fragility and the resilience of te reo.<\/p>\n
The late 1970s and 1980s saw the birth of the M\u0101ori language revitalisation movement. One of the most powerful initiatives came from M\u0101ori communities themselves: k\u014dhanga reo, or language nests, where preschool-aged children would be immersed in te reo, nurtured by kaum\u0101tua who still spoke the language fluently. The first k\u014dhanga reo opened in 1982, quickly spreading across the country.<\/p>\n
A march during M\u0101ori Language Week to demand that the M\u0101ori language have equal status with English in Wellington on August 1, 1980 (Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library)<\/p>\n
This movement grew into kura kaupapa M\u0101ori, primary and secondary schools where te reo was the language of instruction and tikanga M\u0101ori was embedded into daily practice. By the 1990s, M\u0101ori broadcasting was also developing: iwi radio stations and M\u0101ori Television (later Whakaata M\u0101ori) all began providing spaces for te reo to be heard and normalised in homes across the motu.<\/p>\n
Government policy began to follow. The M\u0101ori Language Act of 1987 declared te reo an official language of Aotearoa. Later, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo M\u0101ori \u2013 the M\u0101ori Language Commission \u2013 was established to promote and support the language.<\/p>\n
Present day: the long road to recovery<\/p>\n
Fifty years on from the first M\u0101ori Language Week, the reo landscape is mixed. There are genuine signs of revitalisation: tens of thousands of children enrolled in k\u014dhanga reo and kura kaupapa M\u0101ori, an explosion of M\u0101ori media, and growing use of te reo in workplaces, politics and popular culture. Non-M\u0101ori are increasingly learning te reo, with demand for night classes, apps and online courses often outstripping supply.<\/p>\n
But the challenges remain stark. Only around one in five M\u0101ori can hold a conversation in te reo, and among the wider population the figure is less than 5%. Many native speakers are elderly, meaning intergenerational transmission remains fragile. Experts warn that revitalisation requires not just symbolic gestures, but deep systemic support: more teachers, better resources and greater recognition of M\u0101ori knowledge systems across education, health, law and media.<\/p>\n
The story of te reo M\u0101ori is one of survival. From being the only language of Aotearoa, to near-extinction under colonial suppression, to the grassroots fight for its return \u2013 the reo has endured. Its journey is a reminder of the deep scars of colonisation, but also of the resilience of M\u0101ori communities who refused to let it die.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week is the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo M\u0101ori. To celebrate, we\u2019re running a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[26380,492,42,43,26377,26378,26379,22319,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-26200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-atea","9":"tag-comments-enabled","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-te-reo","13":"tag-te-wiki-o-te-reo","14":"tag-te-wiki-o-te-reo-maori","15":"tag-te-reo-maori","16":"tag-top-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-topnews","19":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}