Maori was the first language understood by nearly half the parents and grandparents surveyed in Palmerston North. Many people, however, commented that they had either lost the ability to speak Maori or were finding it difficult to maintain. The most common reason given for this was a move to the city where the lack of fluent Maori speakers made it difficult to find anyone to talk with in Maori. One person lost the ability to speak Maori when his grandparents and parents died and he was adopted out into other families where the main language spoken was always English.
Many of the people interviewed expressed a desire to learn to speak Maori, a few saying they were embarrassed and ashamed at their lack of knowledge, and two people mentioning that they are afraid they will be seen as Pakeha because they cannot speak Maori.
Manawatū-Whanganui | Palmerston North City | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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