As a Māori-speaking māmā, with both whakapapa Māori and Pākehā, I’ve observed those of my whānau who aren’t often exposed to te reo Māori in their daily lives regularly demonstrate the truth of this. They may not be able to converse in te reo or be able to understand what is being communicated specifically, but it’s clear to see that they can get a feeling for what’s being communicated.

I didn’t grow up speaking te reo Māori. Mum had a little bit of knowledge but enough to give us the language when we were kids. So I know what it’s like to go out and be hungry for it, go through those years and years of courses learning it.

Mum never really regained her reo. She tried to learn again as an adult several times. She thought it would come back to her. But becoming proficient in te reo was heavily dependent in those times on having other people to speak to, and Mum was immersed in the urban Māori lifestyle by then.

Ngākau titikaha means to be confident. Ngākau is heart, titi means to pierce and kaha means strength. Every time I speak reo I feel my heart is pierced with power and strength.

New Zealand’s first language is endangered. We can’t afford to normalise misspelling and mispronunciation any more than it already is.

Kāore ōku toto Māori, engari ko Aotearoa te whenua i whakatipu mai i a au. I don’t have any Māori blood, but Aotearoa is the land that raised me.