Te Reo is the first language of this land. I love the natural sounds of this land - streams burbling, pukekiwiriki twittering; ocean waves and gulls squawking and I imagine the sounds of te reo arriving and becoming part of the land too. Creating words for the birds that merged and blended with their sounds or habits and words for places that described events. My siblings and I did that as children for the places we played. My dad did it for the farm paddocks. My children did it. My grandchildren do it.
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