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'

Te Reo Māori is a national taonga, and I want to actively participate in the celebration of te reo Māori. I am only just beginning my journey, with an ultimate goal toward joining my fiancè and daughter in fluency. Kia kaha te reo Māori!

Tim

I've always wanted to speak Te Reo fluently. It is the mother tongue of this country and I feel that we as a nation have a responsibility to take care of the language as it is the essence of its culture.

Tilomai

Te Ao Maori is woven into the cultural fabric of who we are and everything we do.

Tiere

To keep Te Reo Māori alive & to appreciate the culture indigenous to this land.

Tianna

To learn more about my whakapapa

Tia

Te Ao Māori is beautiful and as a Pākehā we have done a lot of damage to it. Time to try and reverse the damage my tupuna have done and grow te reo in our country!

Thomas

I am a Niuean born in Aotearoa and I feel so connected to the people, to the land, the love and the waiatas, the language of the Maori. I have two beautiful Ngapuhi daughters so my connection for me is deeper still. I am awakening to my own language of Vagahau Niue and culture and it only feels natural that I do the same with Te Reo and add to my knowledge of the Maori culture and Pasifika People as a whole. I am grateful to you all who helped this joining in Te Reo come about because this morning watching Jenny May dancing to Pere's singing an Earth Wind & Fire song called September, man my spirit just soared and I got up and danced along with them & felt mana in me and I just love that so much. Faaka ua lahi.

Theresa

Because my teacher made me, i mean told me this was happening

Theo

When you learn a language, you also learn about the culture of that language—it's important to preserve our te reo Māori and culture, because it's what makes New Zealand the way it is.

Tessa

Because te reo Māori is a living language and we need to be using it as much as possible, especially in educational settings

Tess

Awhi tamariki

Terrence

No te mea ka whai mokopuna ahau

Mau

We love using Maori in our daily language and learning about Papatunuku. We are also learning how to be kaitiaki of our environment and how to name many things in Maori together

Teresa

to help build our movement for Reo inclusion for our entire society. . . to help share the beauty

Terence

Because I had no choice

Terangianiwaniwa

To nurture our reo so that it may flourish for many generations to come

Teone

Te Reo is our national language and I need to learn more

Teneti

Always keen to Tautoko Kaupapa Maori, Tu Maori Mai 👀

Teina

#Samestorydifferentva'a

Ted

BECAUSE

Te Runui

Soak in all the knowledge

Te Rauhui

It's who I am, a King Country born and breed, Tapu Toa Wahine!

Te Rangimarie

Te reo is our language & we should all learn it. It’s part of our heritage and culture.

Te Rangi

Te Puni Kōkiri is a proud partner in the Maihi Karauna. As professionals, as uri and as New Zealanders our kaimahi believe in its vision, ‘Kia māhorahora te reo – every day, by everyone, every way, everywhere’.

Te Puni

because we owe it to our ancestors and to our future generations to learn!

Te Mahara

Ko te reo te mauri o te Mana Māori.

Te Kowhai

We would like to learn everday Te Reo words that we can use at the workshop

Te Kanawa

To learn, teach and pass on Te Reo Māori to everyone in Aotearoa and beyond. . . .

Te Kōrari

My children. I was ignorant of the importance of my reo when I was at school and didn’t think it was useful. Now, as an adult I wish with everything that I learnt Māori as a child. Because the struggle is real as an adult to learn, retain and pass it on to my children. It is important that I encourage the importance of normalising our language and culture now so that my children don’t ever have to struggle as adults as I am now. Reo Māori shouldn’t have to be an option to learn for us as Māori. It should be something we are born into. The only option we should have with regard to our language is where we speak it. Which should be everywhere. By being part of Māori Language Week I hope that I can do my small part to encourage and normalise the use of our reo both in the home and in my place of work.

Te Ata

Kia haapai i te oranga tonutanga o too taatou reo

Te Aroa

The language will be lost if we wait too long andmy mokos will need it, more than I do, I have the memories

Te Aniwa

Na taku aroha ki tōku reo te take! Kia kaua hoki te reo e mate ā moa.

Taylah

I want to discover my sense of identity, and feel closer to my ancestry, my whanau. Know where I came from to know where I can go, and not go forth alone.

Tayla

Te reo Māori is a national language of Aotearoa and every person in this country should be able to speak reo Māori as fluently as English. If we don't take small steps now, when will we start.

Rhonda Tawhai

It's important for me to take part and actively engage and promote the use of reo Māori in the workplace to honour one of NZ's national languages. As the language of it's indigenous people this provides inclusion and cultural appropriateness in my workplace to show that it values tangata whenua and tangata Māori on a daily basis.

Tanya

To celebrate and experience joy through using one of our national languages, a language that is connected to our people, land, and who we are as a nation.

Tanya

I learn te reo Māori as it was the first human language of our whenua. I love the sound of the language and its poetic nature. I wish i had grown up in a multi/bi lingual environment so I wasn't so mono lingual. Every language is a window into another reality and learning other languages reminds us that there are many world views and pulls us away from ethnocentrism. I hope one day that all children of our country will have the chance to learn to reo Maori and English . I think it would greatly improve race relations in our country and we'd all be better for it.

Tanya

Mai mai te reo ketekete i te whenua, te reo au i ngā pūkerekere hau, te reo kaha i te Moana nui a Kiwa. Inā ka whakaae mai, nō te whenua tonu te reo Māori, engari nā ngā iwi Māori i tāreia mō tātou katoa ki te ora. Mā te reo ka whakakotahi nei tātou e ngā iwi katoa o Aotearoa.

Tania

Nōku te reo, nō ōku tūpuna ki au, ki aku tamariki. He ataahua te reo me ōna āhuatanga :)

Tangiwai

Because I care about our nation and our culture.

Tamsin

Because it’s my kaupapa. My Whānau. My life. My aroha. If we don’t take part the culture would die off and be drowned by everyone else’s cultures

Tamia

Get acquainted with the Maori culture. Thank you.

Tamer

Because I am Maori, to embrace out tupuna matauranga, & weave into our lifes in 2020. Its so important to keep pono to truly who we are as Maori the foundation of Maoridom sprouts from te ao maori way of life. So the more we can connect with te reo maori the better in the long run as a whole country,

Tamati

E hiahia ana au ki te tautoko tēnei kaupapa hei tohu ki te ao whānui o te whakahirahiratanga o tō tātau reo rangatira. Te reo Māori plays such an important part of my life and is the essence of my identity. As such it is a no brainer that when an opportunity like this presents itself to be able to tautoko and participate in such an amazing event there is no question that I would take part. Thank you Ngāhiwi mā for putting out such an inspiring invitation to Aotearoa to get behind the continued support and revitalisation of te reo Māori.

Tama

to just have fun

Tama

Because I want to learn more about my maori history and learn more reo

Natalie

Because it represents the land in which we live in!

Talia

Because I am obligated to serve my language as it has done ten-fold for myself

Taihakoa

To be a role model for students to have bicultural teaching practice!

Tahera

He taonga te reo, our reo is a treasure and the key to the world of our tipuna! Tohaina te reo!

Tākuta

I want to be more confident in speaking, understanding and using te reo Māori. I have done several Māori courses and would like to build on what I have learnt.

Suzanne

So that I can act as an ally under Te Tiriti ō Waitangi as a Pakeha. We are a bi cultural country and I have a great amount of respect for Māori culture

Susanna

Want to share NZs unique heritage, culture and language.

To learn, understand and embrace Maori Culture.

Susan

Normalising chatting in te reo Maori daily draws us together as New Zealanders

Susan

I come from India which is a land of many languages. I grew up in a multicultural household and I understood early in life that to truly understand and assimilate a culture and a way of life, learning that language is a vital first step. A language is not only a means of communication but also a means of exchanging values, beliefs, customs and most important expressing mutual respect. While I have made an effort to incorporate Te Reo in my day to day life, I want to make a conscious and directed effort at learning and integrating Te Reo in my life so that I can be a part of Aotearoa and Aotearoa can be a part of me in a more holistic, deep level.

Sunaina

It’s time to recognise the privilege I have with speaking my reo. . Giving it more attention, reminding myself words, whakataki, kiwaha and brush off the rust.

I am a fourth generation Indian South African and my language heritage has suffered such that my children are unable to converse in our mother tongue. The same should not be allowed to happen to this unique language. Kia kaha te reo Māori!

Sukie

I'm continually improving my reo, so want to commit to that.

Sue

I am an immigrant - I want to increase my sense of belonging to my new homeland.

Stuart

Because if we do not celebrate what makes us unique, we lose sight of how large the world is, the different needs of all cultures, and how much care of each other we have to take

Steven

I feel that the language and culture of Maori is so important to the DNA of Aotearoa. It's one of the things that makes New Zealand special and I'd like to see the language thrive for generations to come.

Stephen

I am a citizen of a country defined by Te tiriti the country is a tale of two peoples - maori and pakeha - and should obviously be bi-lingual.

Stephen

It is part of being a Kiwi

Stephanie

because i think it is important not to lose the te reo language. and important for the future so my tamariki grow up being confident in speaking te reo

Stephanie

A native speaker of English who struggles to learn any other language. Sign, Te Reo, Mandarin, it doesn't matter I am linguistically challenged. But I keep trying. Luckily I sing and play the guitar. Amazingly I can sing in any language. There is nothing more beautiful than to hear Te Reo being spoken when I'm out and about not just in formal situations. I'm envious.

Stephanie

unique culture

stefan

It's my whakapapa!

Jayden

I am a Australian married to a maori man with 3 maori children. I think it is important for my children to learn their culture.

Stacey

Te Reo Maori is a precious NZ taonga and it is a joy to protect, speak and tautoku. Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria!

Sophie

As part of our work in kindergarten it is important for us to promote te reo Maori and other bicultural activities

Sonya

Maori is an official language of Aotearoa and I am ignorant.

Sonya

As an immigrant I had to find new roots in beautiful Aotearoa and learning to speak Māori is a way to connect to the people and culture of my new home country in a more meaningful way.

Sonja

As a Pākehā with a longstanding personal and professional commitment to social justice I believe it is important that I 'walk the walk' where biculturalism in Aotearoa is concerned.

Sonja

In due time, my commitment to a New Zealander partner will become a commitment to his country. Learning and using te reo māori is my way of requesting permission to become one in a million now, and one of the team of five million in the future.

Sonia

Being welsh language is such an important part of your identity and the history of a country. As i have been living in NZ for 12 years it is a long but important part of my journey.

Sonia

because my whole school is doing it, because i like to participate and because it is fun!

Sofia

He taonga tuku iho te reo nē! Anō, ka hiahia whakaute au ki ōku tipuna.

Siobhan

I believe it is essential that we truly become bilingual in Aotearoa I believe this honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Sue

I’m a kiwi, I believe te reo Maori is an important part of that. I’d like to be able to understand & speak more then I do at the moment.

Siobaun

To acknowledge the differences we have but to reiterate we are one, homo sapiens. Lets stay united.

sindhu

I feel as a nation we have become far better embracing and sharing in Maori culture and giving people confidence to give Te Reo Moari a go - as a leader I want to keep encouraging this, Maori culture and language is a very unique part of Aotearoa New Zealand's identity

Simon

I like this idea. Te reo is a national treasure and should be promoted. I want to learn more.

Simon

I think te reo maori is an important part of our culture that we must preserve.

Simon

He taonga te reo i tuku iho mai i nga matua tupuna. He hononga ki a ratou ma me o ratou ake mohiotanga, maramatanga o te Ao. Na, kei roto ko te rongoaa mo tatou nga waihotanga e kimi haere ana i te oranga mo tatou ano. xox

sienna

To embrace our kiwi culture and take part in something big.

Shonny

l am of the generation where my parents and grandparents spoke te reo in our home all the time and was punished at school for speaking it so my korero isn't as good as I would like and I strive everyday to improve.

Shona

To celebrate what it us to be a New Zealander.

Shirley

I feel the older I get its something I think alot about and wish I could understand the language more

Shirley

Being Maori

Shirley

Its important to keep our reo alive and to share and learn our knowledge

Shirlee

We're in Aotearoa New Zealand and it's important we try and learn the language as otherwise it might struggle into the future and it's a mark of respect for the land we stand on. It's one of the official languages so we should try and learn it.

Shirin

This is my country; this is our reo that we celebrate.

Sheryl

It is important to value all things Maori and to encourage non Maori to participate and gain knowledge and understanding

Sheryl

We want to embrace and take part of this wonderful historical event. To endorse and support Reo Māori for and with each other. Kia tū tatou, kia mahia, kia kaha ki te kōrero!

Sherrilee

Because I should I am a Maori.

Sherrene

He Māori ahau. Because I am Māori.

Sherie

Growing up in a predominantly paheka farming community, I didnt know who I was or who I connected with. I was not white enough, but I also wasnt brown enough and it has made me feel embarrassed about having no identity. My Maori father spoke no Maori, my Pakeha mother had no clue either. My Koro didnt teach us as he stuttered and I think too, he was traumatized by what had happened to him as a child when he spoke Maori. So now, I am 31, have 2 children I look at them and I know I want them to know more about our language and culture and it starts with ME. I have never appreciated our culture or language before, but I now see its beauty and I am being called to step up and learn.

Sheree

because its been a long time coming.

Sheree

Maori is a beautiful language. I think it's important to further my own learning and knowledge while teaching my children and hoping they will learn and know more than me.

Shelley