Te pae kōrero | Our why

There are many things that define New Zealanders and connect us to our home: and te reo Māori is one of them.

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to learn te reo and see it become normalised and spoken nationwide. Explore them below and share your favourites to inspire others to get involved.


Add your 'why'

Because Te Reo Māori is the language of this land and it’s first people. I am pākehā, born here in Aotearoa and I call this land my home. I therefore want to know her language to connect to her. I find my life is enriched by learning te reo and I also feel it is all of our duty to speak the precious language it to keep it alive.

Sarah

My why in Maoridom is everything. . . My very existence has always been about who I am and where I fit in this world. . . Sadly I learnt my Reo in high school/ tertiary studies which has fallen off over the years. Now in the latter part of my life, we speak and encourage it daily in my mahi and home. I am a primary school teacher and encourage our students to embrace their native language and make it part of who they are. As am I.

Isabel

I am learning Te Reo because I want it to be a part of my every day language and I want to increase my understanding of it. It is important to me because it is the indigenous language of our country, it is beautiful, and it is critical in keeping Maori culture alive. I am proud that Maori and Maori culture are unique to Aotearoa and proud that such a beautiful language is an important part of that.

Celine

I live in Australia but I grew up in Panama Road, Otahuhu and attended Otahuhu College - 40+ years ago. The friends (whanau) in my life at that time have always welcomed me home with open arms and still include me in family celebrations. At that time very few of my friends spoke the Maori language. What a pleasure to see te reo Maori being honoured, respected and taught to all New Zealanders.

Anna

I am raro and Māori. I need learn more about te reo Māori.

Judy

Our reo helps define us, like in every culture. I love being Maori Samoan. My goal is to become a Te reo teacher, also try learn Samoan, and teach my 5 beautiful children who we are and where we come from to help build their self confidence.

Fuimaono

I am Māori, Māori is me, I need to do this not just for me but for my tamariki, my moko & for the next generation to come after I have left the world of the living. Te Reo Māori is who I am it is ours & it is part of me & I feel if I do not play my part then it will be in danger of been lost. I also feel that it is a beautiful language that makes be unique.

Georgina

I am learning Te Reo because as a teacher, I want to model to my students that learning their own language/identity and embracing others’ is important! As a NZ citizen, it’s part of our national identity. I would love to be able to converse in the supermarkets, sporting tournaments, kura, marae, etc in Te Reo and make this a norm. How lovely would it be to have the whole country mindfully doing that!

Justin

Te Reo is the language of Aotearoa. Maori ( sorry don’t know how to do macrons with my phone) are our tangata whenua. We need to elevate our tangata whenua And our reo to its rightful forefront place. Kia Ora

Marilyn

Because I am of maori decent and I need/want to know my own culture. I need my children to know who they are also.

Aroha

Kia ora. I was brought up mainstream. My father's mantra. "Get an education. Good job and travel. Mum and dad were brought up in a community where reo was spoken ia ra ia ra. I went to TWA to learn te reo. I learnt quickly and more from my two year old moko. I went to Te Atarangi in 1981 and followed a couple of other courses. 1999 I studied Maori and Media studies at Massey. Group participation was great. Finally at the WA the Reo l had accumulated finally made sense. He tino miharo. Watching my son totally immersed in reo and mahi plus 6 moko learning reo, oldest at 21yrs who taught Nani more kupu. Ko te Reo te mauri o Te Mana Maori. Mauri Ora.

Geneva

'Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria'. Te reo Māori is a part of my identity, a connection to my tupuna and it helps me to know who I am and what my place is in this world. He toanga tuku iho, he hononga ki te ao Māori, ki te taiao, ki tōku turangawaewae hoki.

Emily

Taha wairua! Two wai combine to form my spirit, just as two people korero to make a connection. Live, grow, connect, such as life.

Abby

I grew up in Northland in the 1950s and 60s in a Pakeha family. We were taught Maori waiata and action waiata at school and loved it but didn't know what what I was singing about which was frustrating. I learned years later it was the educational law - no Maori language was tolerated or taught. I am 4th generation NZer and felt angry my 2nd language had been deprived from me. Numerous attempts to learn have been overtaken by life but I am still proud of my 2nd language and love hearing it all around me now.

Ruth

Kia Ora . I feel a strong connection with Te Ao Maori including Te Reo , kapahaka, etc . I am a full blooded pakeha but grew up in Wairoa , HB. My first kaiako was Mrs Hana Mita from Nuhaka - she was very special to me. I just feel a strong connection due to my amazing upbringing. I was the only pakeha in my Maori class at wairoa college and also studied Maori and Canterbury ( my major was engineering) . I have never quite grasped Te Reo . . I feel it is time. My dream is to speak fluent Te Reo with my mokopuna ( who are not born yet).

Jane

I'm learning Te Reo as it is the language of my country. I feel tremendously fortunate to have Maori ancestry and I want to honor my Tupuna by speaking about them in their language.

Lynette

I want to be part of the movement to make te reo Maori heard and understood as a normal part of living in New Zealand.

Sam

Tena koutou. Tino hiakai ahau ki te ako, ki te kõrero te reo Māori na te mea he Māori ahau. E hiahia ana ahau ki te korero tõku reo Rangatira, he tāonga no o tātou Tupuna mo tātou i ēnei rā. No reira kia mau ki tõ tātou reo Māori me õna tikanga papai.

Bronwyn

It is important to me because it is a part of my identity, my whenua, my tūpuna, my tamariki and our future.

Kimberly

I am not from New Zealand but I came 2 years ago and fell in love with place and and people. I met a beautiful wahine in a hostel who told me how to pronounce words as i did not know how to say things and didnt want to offend. She taught me lots about her culture. It stayed with me and I think about New Zealand and te reo Māori alot. I decided to learn more so next time i come back i can speak more confidently.

Lucy

My parents emigrated here with me in the 80s. I grew up being told “ don’t play with the Maori kids”. I always felt I had to chose between doing what my parents wanted and what I felt was right. Eventually I grew up and started my own life. My daughters need to know the history of the country we call home. I am proud to finally stand up and call my parents out on their racism. Most of all I hope my daughters will grow up to be better, more caring, compassionate wahine who are more culturally located than I was. Let’s improve with every generation. Is it really such an effort to learn a new language and culture? Is learning our nations culture and history a detriment? NO ! ! Does learning the true history of aotearoa and it’s people help us all to better people in the future? YES ! Ko te ahua a turanga . . taku mounga, ko mangitanoka toku awa, ko rathnow toku hapu, ko Rose toku ingoa. Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. ( please excuse the lack of macrons and the spelling. )

Rosemary

As Rosie Remmerswaal said, "Kāore ōku toto Māori, engari ko Aotearoa te whenua i whakatipu mai i a au" - this is my home, this is where I belong, and I want Te Reo Māori to remain a part of my life for as long as I live it.

Nat

I wrote this on a facebook site (about the Treaty and Bible which seeks to discuss and resolve issues): Been to two funerals in the last two days, of pakeha men. . . Both of them had input from te reo and tikanga, one had a laying in on the local marae, and a haka (ka mate) in front of the coffin as it was taken out. The other had a proverb in Māori with the explanation, not translation (he tangata) and it felt comfortable with everyone, good and right. . . I am encouraged and think we are changing as nation, slowly maybe, but it is happening! I am glad I am starting to pick up on te reo, but want to do more, to understand more, so am attending an online class next week - via Zoom! No language can be learnt from a dictionary!

Deb

I'm maori so want to learn my language to understand my tipuna and the history of aotearoa.

Laura

It is fundamental to who we are

Catherine

I am bicultural Maori and European. When my father was killed I lost a lot of my connection to Te Ao Maori and my maori side of my whanau. Learning Te Reo Maori is a way I can connect to my Whakapapa and understand a part of who I am. I am bicultural but not a person of colour, and it has bene hard for me to connect with all parts of who I am. To reconnect to a unique part of my Whakapapa and Tipuna is why I have been on this journey to learn the reo and tikanga of my ancestors.

Jacob

I really want to learn correct pronunciation and usage. Our family is multiracial, we are already aware of saying people's names correctly, now want to extend our knowledge.

Christine

So I can share what my children are learning at school and daycare.

Erin

Whilst I don't think that I whakapapa Māori, by children do through their fathers. I also believe that te reo is the language of our country and should be celebrated, learnt and cherished by us all. Learning te reo means so much to me, it has not only opened up more pathways for my tamariki and I but has also helped me find myself and given me the courage to learn about where my ancestors came from, and even start learning another new language, Gàidhlig (Scots Gaelic), another language almost lost. I encourage all people from Aotearoa to learn. It is important, and it may just help you learn more about yourself too

Terijoy

I take part because of my obligations for reconciliation under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. My ancestors’ failure to uphold Te Tiriti resulted in loss of language. As their uri, I have a responsibility to support spaces which endorse and celebrate that which was lost. They helped to constrain te reo, but I am an accomplice in it’s liberation.

Olivia

I think it is important for us all to have a basic understanding of Te Reo

Deborah
Jane

My why is my whanau - I continue to try to include maori in my "everyday" as I feel it links me to where I have come from and my tipuna that have gone before me. It is important for me to show my children that we should always embrace everything that makes us who we are, and our language that is uniquely ours. The Māori language movement is not only about us as individuals but who we are as a people, tangata whenua. A wairua that brings our people closer and be more connected.

Amanda

I grew up in Auckland not surrounded by the reo. It was something that always interested me but I never put myself in a position to learn. I ended up living in Italy for 17 year where I became fluent in the language. We have since returned home with our children and I have started my journey to learn. I have been learning for 3 year.

Rima

Tēnā koutou, I whānau mai au i tēnei whenua. Ki ōku nei whakaaro, me ako tātou katoa o Aotearoa nei i te reo o tēnei whenua! Nō Tuhoe, nō Whakatōhea ōku Tamariki. Kua noho au i te rohe o Ngāti Tuwharetoa no te nuinga o tōku oranga. He pouako hoki ahau.

Beth

It is important to me to learn Te Reo Māori because I would love to be able to understand it

Gresha

Te reo Māori is unique and precious and I love learning how to pronounce it as best I can with others in my class at NMIT in Nelson where our most amazing kaiako guides us.

Anna

Teaching and learning te reo Māori is important because our vision is that all children will grow up strong in their identity, language and culture. It is part of our heritage and culture in Aotearoa.

Nikki

Kia ora, my answer is simple. . Its to keep me connected to My Kuia, she only spoke Te Reo up until she passed. I miss her warm smile, her cuddles and her aroha everyday. When I return to her, I will be able to have a korero to her in Te Reo and she will know how much I missed her.

Kimihanga

Kia ora. I am a migrant from South Est England. I didin't come to Aotearoa New Zealand to be in Little England. Consequently I value the diversity of my new home. Te Reo Māori is a key element in this. In my view, its polite and honourable to be able to speak the language of any place, especially that you want to call home. I'm not fluent but I'm trying.

Marty

For me, being a New Zealander means knowing, understanding and respecting our past. Now, more than ever, I feel that means growing my understanding of te ao Māori, te reo and tikanga Māori, as well as my other forebears. There is so much hidden richness and beauty that I didn’t acknowledge until starting this journey, but already when I see a pou, a tukutuku panel or a rangatira wahine with a Moko Kauae, I feel I’m better able to see all that it means, not just the surface.

Geoff

I think learning te reo is a positive step towards healing the harm that has occurred in our history.

Rose

I want to learn more the REO Māori Language

Jessica TeAroha

I started because I'd lived overseas and learned another language fluently and it seemed like a good idea to learn the language of Aotearoa too. I carried on because I began to understand what a huge injustice had been done to Māori people in depriving them of their language and I wanted to do my tiny, tiny bit toward helping it to thrive again. Eight years on I'm still learning for both those reasons but mostly because this Reo is so rich and beautiful and fascinating and the more I get into it the more I really LOVE it. Ka ako tonu ahau - ake, ake ake! - Adrienne

Adrienne

I started my reo journey so that when the time comes I will be able to teach my mokopuna

Leanne

For myself and for my moko

Suzi

What drives me is living in Whakatu where there is very little Te Reo Māori spoken, and wanting to see it spoken within my whanau and friend groups, and eventually seeing Māori language become as easy to use for me as English.

Judah

I wanted to learn Te Reo and Tikanga Māori so I can understand more about Māoti and pay my respect to the founders of Aotearoa and the first language of the country I was born in. The more I learn, the more I want to know. I wish I hadn't taken 50 years to get here but realise I was fortunate to have Te Reo Māori at primary school and to intermediate level in the 70's and early 80's. "Mehemea ka moemoeā ahau, ko ahau anake. Mehemea ka moemoeā tatou, ka taea e tatou. " "If I dream, I dream alone. If we all dream together, we can succeed". (Te Puea Hêrangi)

Leigh

Its uniquely ours. . . . . I procrastinated for years and now I feel like I am who I identify as

Hayley

I work in ece, and have found majority of tamariki Māori are attending english-medium services. Its important to me because if I dont increase my ability to speak te reo and connect with te taiao through a Māori lense, then those tamariki will miss an opportunity to connect and be exposed with their culture and language. I cant imagine what it feels like to be where Māori are currently, not owning their identity as Māori, if I can influence one tamaiti to learn and be proud to be Māori then I know I've done my job properly. Also I'm very passionate about te ao Māori me te reo me te matauranga so it makes sense to keep on going and to never give up.

Ben

Tēnā koe. Ko te Reo i te Reo tuatahi i Aotearoa. I kōrero ia tēra ranei i Aotearoa mō ētahi atu Waru rau tau. I mua kātahi ngā kōrero ā ngā waiata o ngā manu. Te Pūtea nō Tāne. Ngā manaakitanga me te whakaoranga o Papatūānuku. Ko ēnei te koha o Rangi rāua ko Papa, . He aha ako ai Te Reo? Kāore Māori. Kāore Māori toto. Ko Tararā ahau. Ko tēnei te kaupapa mō tōku haerenga i te Ao o Te Reo. Ko Mātiu Tarawa tōku Rangatira (Tauranga moana, Ngati Ranginui, Ngaīterangi, Tuhourangi). Ko Bruce Biggs, Patua Hohepa, Mermeri Penfold ōku Ahorangi me kaiako o te Reo. Ko Te Reo he reo ataahua. Ko te waharoa tomokanga rānei ki te manawa whenua o Aotearoa. Kōrerotia te Reo ia tangata, ia tangata, ia rā ia rā. Ngā mihi

David

It's our indigenous language (taonga) - good role modelling for my tamariki - I want to learn more.

Anna

I believe it is important to learn the indigenous Language and cultural practices of the land that we stand on 💚

Catherine

I've been learning Te Reo for 4 years now - attending weekly classes with a bunch of like minded people - both Maori and Pakeha. I love the sense of whānau we have created as we have been on this journey together. It's a long slow one for me but I am committed. While I am Pakeha, I am soon to have my first mokopuna in August. My kids are keen for me to make Te Reo Maori a beautiful part of my grandparenting. Te Reo Māori is part of our rich heritage as treaty partners. We need to keep the language alive and normalise it in our society. For me, it's a way of honouring our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and helping to undo some of the wrongs in the past.

Ruth

The world plays rugby football, goes to ballet, makes fine wine. Only in my country do we have Te Reo Maori.

Mikara

As a new migrant to this country (been there 3 years now), it's very important for me to discover and learn the tikanga and kawa of Te Ao Maori. I am so so so glad that New Zealand celebrates its origins instead of trying to wipe them out using Western culture. Learning Te Reo Maori is my way of contributing to this.

Tiphaine

It is important for me because my tupuna had the reo taken from them and I want to learn it for them, especially my greatnana.

Donna

It's a sense of belonging, part of who we are, it's a much calmer and peaceful way of doing everyday things, reo maori has whakapapa and purpose it has a higher understanding (kauae runga) where we action that purpose daily.

Tanya

When I was young My grandfather spoke Te Reo, I thought all grandfathers spoke the reo. I thought it was natural, I loved it. In the street we were told we were part of the tribe Ngai Tai we were told that we belonged. I thought I should learn the language I had valued I enrolled at school and learnt. My grandfather threw my books down and was exasperated, the transliterate words threw him. He said the language was describing not transliterate. My first lesson was about te reo irirangi describing sound on a radio. I was spoken to in Maori at school by teachers who knew my background but I was also chastised by those who thought I was out of line. My journey abrupted, I am white, My grandfather went to a small settlement when he was two. His parents were teachers at Torere (they are buried there) My grandfather learnt this language from 2 years old, his parents his whanau learnt this language and were integrated via whanaugatanga. My mother was part of the era that was told not to speak. For years I tried to speak to, learn, but I am white my story my grandfathers story is negligible, insignificant. My family has two cultures which cannot be appreciated by the outside. My grandfather had two cultures he lived Maori, he became a translator he was of two cultures and so am I but I am white and no longer belong. Sometimes being of blood is representative however some people like my grandfather are treasures that are forgotten. I would speak this language every day I just need someone who would not ridicule me for being white. Mary-Anne

Mary-Anne

Because Māori is who I am. My ancestors deserve to be remembered and commemorated! I wanna be better for my future children and grandchildren!

Micah

I started a course at Polytech this year in Health and wellbeing. It is very important to me, to build up my knowledge of te reo. I was very proud to give my first presentation last term, which started with my mihimihi, that I have memorised. This is the beginning of my te reo journey.

Julie

To increase my kete of knowledge.

Vera Moana

Kia tangata whenua anō ai te reo ki te arero!

Jack

It is important to be part of the Maori movement as I missed out on learning te reo when I was growing up. The reason for this was because my dad did not want myself and my siblings to speak te reo as he got a hard time for speaking te reo and did not want us to experience that.

Eve

I am a Pākehā mother of Māori tāne. It's important for me to learn te reo as it is part of their identity.

Tracey

I believe that we as a people have a good understanding of what has happened to us unfairly and under a oppressive way done to us by identifying ourselves as something we are not by someone who is not us, government to farmer, immigrant to school child, we must embrace and reward our true identity as gangsta whenua. Our identity is not one of colony before technology, we are one of Maori as maori in there own right a person a true nature of memories and love from true conciousness with the land and the sea. We are not what they say we are, but who and what our tupuna made for us. Encouraging the maori identity to be one again with our language and our land

Nia

Last year I studied Tikanga level 3 with TWOA and this year I'm studying level 2 & 3 Te Reo fulltime. I'm on my Reo journey because I want to be more involved with my marae and hopefully be able to help out our kaumatua on the paepae

Jahmarley

Kia ora I love the language, as I'm a Early Childhood teacher. I find that when I say simple sentences to the tamariki, they tend to respond better in te reo than they do in English.

Toni

I started my journey in 2011 & still on the journey, I love speaking & learning Te Reo & everything else that comes with that, starting L5 Te Reo course in July with TWOR and can’t wait 😝

Gina

To feel closer to my tipuna, to know myself.

Tash

It is important to me as it will empower me by giving me confidence in learning Te reo.

Miria

He wāhine Hāmoa ahau. I am married to a Samoan/Māori man and my daughter has a Māori name as well, Amorangi. My why is that I want my children to be immersed in the Māori culture so that they know their identity and so that I can learn more about where I live and the country that my grandparents immigrated to.

Eseta

Kia Ora! I’m learning te reo vocabulary so I can share it with my international students in ESOL class. This gives them a window into aspects of Maori culture and opens their minds to new ways of looking at the world.

Penny

I love te reo Māori, it is the language of my people and it is who I am. I love taking part in the Māori language movement because there is no other place in the world where people learn te reo Māori and it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure we preserve for future generations- Toku reo toku ohooho, toku reo toku māpihi mauria, tōku reo toku whakakai mārihi

Karleen

I want to embrace the culture of my adoptive country. I want to. That’s really all there is to it.

Michael

I’d often wished I had another language to share with my tamariki and there is and I just need to inspire them to appreciate te reo Māori too.

Marcia

For me it is about connecting to a perspective on life and learning that we know exists, but don't seem to make a lot of time for. I've decided to make time in my life. I look at parts of my life, social media, whanau, work and friends differently now. It also makes you more aware of how Maori must have felt when Pakeha first came on the scene. Weaving in a different perspective does take time and energy but it is so worth it.

Vanessa

In the 1970’s I was part of a group of educators (Maori and pakeha) who wanted to have Te reo introduced into the school curriculum. Phil Amos the Minister of Education was keen but for some reason it didn’t happen. At last it seems to be a bit closer and l’m enjoying seeing it’s wider use especially in the media.

Grant

As a New Zealander, I believe te reo Māori is important for all New Zealanders. We all need to take part.

karen

It's what is right, what my heart wants to do.

Chloe

Nga mihi mahana kia koutou, I wanted to briefly share my appreciation for your kaupapa. Its great just to get on and shoot the breeze with everyone. People are either way above my level of Te Reo or just beginning. I love the opportunity of sharing. Kia kaha tonu. Arohatia to tatou Reo, Me korero, ahakoa te korero.

Dawn

For much of my early life especially, I was penalised for being Maori and successful. Secondary teachers colonised me right out of the education system so I dropped out and went to work. Yep I taught them, NOT! I never gave up on myself, picked up my reo in my fifties, graduated from Social Work in my 60s and intertwine all that I am today and tomorrow. My reo continues to grow each day. . .

Dawn

Kia Ora, my journey in Te Reo began 18yrs ago when my middle daughter attended a primary school that labeled the classrooms in Te Reo numbers. My youngest daughter attended Playcentre which engages in the Te Whariki Curriculum.

Lorraine

for myself as well as for my tamariki and mokopuna. my journey is ongoing, scarey as well as beautiful I am 55 this year woohoo and my journey is emotional makes you think of who you are and where you came from x

Rosemary

Because its my whakapapa my right to speak my language without any problems.

Meri

My Tamariki

Cherise

It is a love movement - let's love on our country and hear this precious gift being used

Kate

I have always wanted to korero fluently in Maori. My mokopuna are now my motivation.

Sharon

I would love to go back to my marae and be able to understand what is being said, as a teenager i had the opportunity to learn te reo in highschool but i was not interested, now i have children and i would love them to learn as well.

Jessica

This is who we are and it's time to give our indigenous language a stronger voice. I am ashamed that in my grandparents generation, children were punished for speaking Māori at school. In my generation, it was barely acknowledged.

Anna

Its my turangawaewae who I am and where and I'm from

Rebecca

I struggled with my identity growing up being half maori and half euro/slav. I was a little white girl claiming she was maori so i got bullied alot from my own people as well, i got bullied out of kapa haka in intermediate for the same reason, children can be so cruel. It turned me off learning any reo as a kid because i was scared to be lynched by my own culture! Growing older that became a regret i really wished i told them to stuff it because i love my culture sooo much! Its who i am! I feel so lost and i know becoming fluent in reo will make me feel so whole!

Yvette

I left Aotearoa for 35 years and coming home, learning the Reo was the best way to celebrate the manawa of home.

Heather

My dad is Māori so i support him as in that culture. I love my dad so much. I love to be part of this because it teaches me everything in maori.

ua

Learning Te Reo is part of expanding my own culture

Nancy

Te Reo and Te Ao Maori are fundamental to all that we do here in Aotearoa. Everything is one. The people, the land, the oceans and all life. We must all honour and cherish each other and everything that we bring.

Andy

Maori is a beautiful language and ive always wanted to learn. When i hear people conversating in Maori i just love listning to it even if i dont understand, and i would love to learn it.

Samantha

Important to promote and keep te reo Maori alive.

Te reo rangatira e. Maori the chiefly language. Everyone should be taught maori at all levels in school.

Ray

It’s important for me to take part because growing up I never learnt Te Reo. Now that I’m older I feel disconnected and somewhat lost because of this reasoning. I want to learn so I can learn more about who I am really.

Kira