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'

Mā tā tātou uri whakatipu , koinā te mea nui ki tōku

Michelle

believe that everyone in NZ should at least know a few words and the language should always be encouraged and it should be compulsory to be taught in all primary schools. So by taking part in this day we are showing support and using the language.

michelle

To gain greater understanding and knowledge

Michelle

We are honouring the language and first people of this land Aotearoa.

Michelle

Te Reo Maori describes all beyond what Te Reo Pakeha can do. I want to be able to join in the poetic language my daughter speaks and converse with her.

Michelle

I believe in a bi-cultural society for New Zealand, so it is important to have Te Reo Maori represented as a local language for all residents.

Michele

To show our connection to the history, language and culture of New Zealand, and the importance we place on this in our ECE service.

Michaela

Ko aku tamariki no Te Arawa. They are the future of Aotearoa and I must help their awareness increase of their Māori heritage by my actions.

Michael

I don´t want to see Maori language go extinct. We should speak Maori more often.

Michael

BEcause I believe our Reo needs to be revived in our country. So many tamariki are missing out on wonderful opportunities to learn about and be apart of one of the greatest cultures.

Micah

So people hear this wonderful language more.

Mereanna

I am Māori. Māori is me. Ko au te tauira o Te Reo mō ake tonu atu.

mereana

To promote the use of Te Reo Language for me Ahakoa he iti he Pounamu tonu To encourage others to korero Te Reo

Mere

Te Reo is an Integral part of my life, and as a second language learn er, I know how much it meant to have kaumatua/ Kuia support me in my search. To encourage others to understand reo, ahakoa te iti, would be great

Mercia

It is important to me as I feel disconnected to my culture by not being able to converse in our language. It is important to me because I would like to do more for myself and my babies. It is important to me because I would like to advocate for the use of Te Reo Maori to be incorporated into our every day lives including school, mahi, home, social organisations.

Merania

Kia ako o tātou tamariki Māori ki te kōrero Māori, ā, ki maia tēnā ki tēnā ahakoa te iti.

Meralyn

As someone who is Maori I think it is incredibly important to showcase and be proud of your culture. I am half and half and found it really difficult to fully embrace my Maori side even though I had whanau all around me telling me that I am Maori and no one can say otherwise I still felt as though I didn’t belong, although it was journey I can proudly say I am Maori and not let anyone take that away from me. I want to spread my wairua and uplift others who maybe struggling with their identity and let them know it is okay, take your time and don’t let anyone bring you down on your journey.

Memphis-marie

Te reo is integral to our country and should be proudly and frequently used. Maori culture is indigenous, and we are the only country with that culture. It should be celebrated.

Melissa

I am so proud of my Māori heritage and I need to honour it properly.

Melissa

As a student teacher that is from Canada it is important for me to learn so that I can bring Te Reo into my future classroom.

Melissa

I want to celebrate and honour Aotearoa and their ancestors - who are distant cousins of my own Tahitian ancestors.

Melba

Mo aku mokopuna, Mo te Whanau, Hapu, Iwi, Mo te Hapori, Mo te Ao Katoa

Melanie

To be fluent in te reo Maori has always been a dream of mine. And in using this event as a starting point to turn this dream to reality

Melanie

It's important to know the official language of the country, including Sign Language too

Melanie

Maori language and culture is an important part of NZ which used to be punished and has dwindled

Mel

Te Reo Māori is the first language of NZ, we all have a part to play to use and understand it

Mel

To help with my own korero maori and maybe encourage more pakeha to be engaged and not whakama in giving te reo maori a go 😊

Megan

It is what makes us unique as New Zealanders.

Megan

It’s important for me to take part because I don’t know as much te reo as a should and as I would like to

Meg

I grew up feeling really distant from my culture, and now that I’m in my 30’s I really want to reconnect- starting with my Reo.

Meagan

Lots of whys I live in Aotearoa and Te Reo Māori is a taonga for us all - I want to play my part in preserving our taonga reo. I have a 6 year old and its really important I role model using Te Reo and treating te reo as a taonga. He learns at school and I want to be able to korero with him and learn together. I work in government and speaking Te Reo when I can is part of ensuring I respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi in my mahi. Thank you for this opportunity

Meagan

Interested to know about Maori culture, and NZ traditional culture, and learn the language

Mayoukh

When we all went into lockdown my whānau started doing Daily karakia and although as a child I was surrounded by Maori I am not confident to join in and participate and my promise to myself Is to get confident to speak and one day when I am a mum I don’t Māori to be foreign to my tamariki while here in Australia.

Maxine

I am Australian born and have lived in Aotearoa for nearly 40 years. I think it is important for NZ to share its indigenous culture and language.

Max

Te Reo Maaori keeps me connected to my whakapapa and my Tuupuna.

Matutaera

so great to be able to show our support for our nation's first language.

Matthew

We are from New Zealand, and it's important we acknowledge and learn all all that entails, a big part of that is Māori. Ko te manu kai I te miro, nōna te ngāhere, ko te manu kai I te mātauranga, nōna te ao!

Matthew

Because it is important we honour the spirit of the treaty and the bi-cultural nature of our society, embracing the Tikanga of Maori to strengthen our society as a whole.

Matteo

Because it's cool!

Matt

Te Reo Māori is our official spoken language and is a vital taonga. We need to all put in effort to keep the language alive and normalise its use so that everyone can feel comfortable and confident to hear and speak Te Reo.

Matt

Kia puawai te reo rangatira

Matiu

Because Te rep Maori is important o me as it is important to new Zealand and I think that schools should teach it more

Matilda

It’s our culture

Mata

For myself so far away from home For my mokopuna

Marylou

Improve my confidence in using Te Reo each day

Mary

I had two years at Te Wananga o Aotearoa learning Te Reo. I want to continue this journey and to keep learning. Te Reo is a beautiful language which is integral to Māori culture and cannot be dissected from it. As a New Zealander and a Māori I feel that it is important for me to learn Te Reo to help make the language flourish.

Mary

Because te reo is an essential part of who we are as New Zealanders.

Mary

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand upholds the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and recognises our role in upholding the dignity and mana of tangata whenua, including promotion of te reo Māori as the first language of this land.

Martin

To pay homage to a country and a people who allowed my ancestors to share the bounty of this land. From Scotland to Te Tai Tokerau.

Martin

As an immigrant to New Zealand with NZ born children who are being immersed in Te Reo Maori from the start of their Early Childhood experience i believe it is important for me to also learn

Martin

Because I want to understand and be part of the cultural diversity of Aotearoa.

Martha

My daughter is my why. My husband and I were bought up without our culture, so its important our daughter carries that. She teaches us, and we also study to learn.

Marlin

Because I am proud that I know even a little te reo Māori

Mark

Strengthen the beautiful Māori language

Mark

Because I stay in this beautiful country.

Mark

To support the language of Maori. Also to support IDEA Services organisation.

marjoriie

Because te reo is so beautiful and a taonga it’s unique to all who love our country and people of this land . the haka has put us on a global stage and so would te reo . I just wish my nan was here to teach me conversational Maori.

Marion Olliver

I have recently returned to NZ after many years overseas. We are very proud to promote our Maori and Polynesian culture internationally but a sense of pride is hollow when not backed up by actions to make it part of my personal culture and way of being. Learning te reo is a first step.

Marion

Teach the kids

Marion

toku whakapapa. Ko toku reo ko toku taonga, ko toku taonga ko toku reo.

Marika

I have learned Te Reo at school , and Te Ao Maori at Polytech. I want to keep it up so I don't forget

Marika

I believe everyone who lives in Aotearoa should have the opportunity to learn Te Reo. It is an official language in this country after all. Also, if we want to honour te Tiriti we need to learn the language in order to understand the culture and kaupapa.

Marieke

As a New Zealander, it is our Reo!

Marie

Interested to learn.

Marie

Kei te mokemoke au mo te reo kaore na tangata o konei mohio ki te korero Maori te nuinga he Pakeha.

Mariana

I am a Grandmother to 2 Maori mokopuna and I would like to set an example to them to embrace their heritage and language.

Marian

Important to embrace the language of the country and people who accepted us when me migrated here.

Maria

Te reo is an important part of New Zealand/Aotearoa's cultural identity. The more we celebrate it and enjoy its richness, the more we can come together as a people.

Maria

It's important to take part, as it is a part of us. A part of New Zealand that can enrich so much knowledge onto others.

Maria

As a citizen of a country with dual languages, I'd like to develop my te reo Māori to feel confident to use it and teach others.

Maria

Kia Ora. I was watching Pere Wihongi on T. V. One this morning and he really inspired me to take part and awesome waiata. Nga mihi Maria

Maria

I want to recognise Te Reo as the original language of this country, and begin to use it in everyday situations.

Margot

Important kaupapa , need to show my support

Margaret

Because it is important to get the language in constant use so it becomes an every day th8ng not just a token gesture

Marg

Because I believe our native language should be spoken by more people , more often .

Maree

Speaking Te Reo supports my work with Whanau

Maragret

Te Reo itself is important and participating in Huataus like this help us get more involved.

Tamara

National indigenous language

Manpreet

I am tyring to make an effort to learn more about my Maori side - with the hopes of being able to understand when Te Reo is being spoken and to be able to respond accordingly.

Malia

This is important for me and my tupuna and my whakapapa.

Malama

I am of Paskifika decent however I acknowledge the beautiful reo of our Tangata whenua in this beautiful country we call home , It is important to maintain our identity especially our language that we speak , Im keen to learn more and share with my family also ,

YOUR PLACE- To wahi

This is our language and it's good to share it with the rest of the world.

Norton

to help the maori comnunity out as any way as possilbe

maifala

Diversity in this world is important. It makes life more interesting and enjoyable. A culture is kept alive mainly by its language so to see any language or culture in decline is very sad. Te Reo is a beautiful language that is special and unique in NZ and to think it was almost wiped out to colonisation is scary! Let’s hope we can get to a million and more Reo speakers by 2040 (or earlier)!

Mahlon

So the language is not lost and becomes a part of everyone's day.

maggie

I am Maori from Ngati Wai living in the south island and this kind of activity makes me feel closer to my family

Mady

Even though I'm not of Māori heritage, I think that it's extremely important for the Māori language to be enhance, not just in schools, but also in the work places and in the community. I think that most people are still a bit racial to Māori without knowing it (though we are getting much better) but the true meaning of Māori language has been lost, I think, and it's time that we regain that back and bring back the true meaning of Aoteroa.

Madisyn

Because I think it is important to learn Maori.

Madeline

cause mister is making me

mace

I think Te Reo Maori is an important part of our history and want it to continue

Maalosi

I am still learning te reo and my culture. I have been very disconnected and am on a learning journey to reconnect

Lyric

Show the importance of Te Reo Maori to our students! Let them show us what they know and teach them new words, phrases, games, and stories.

Lynne

We feel it is important to normalise Te Reo Maori in Aotearoa We have an office where some are fluent and others are new to this beautiful language. Our office has Maori and non-Maori workers who all support the Reo being spoken as a nation

Lynne

Journey of learning with mokopuna. Building Confidence, resilience

Lynette

Cultural respect, enrichment, and our future

Lynette

If you care for someone you care about what is important to them.

Lyndon

It's an official language.

Lynda

To celebrate te reo and continue the revival!

Lydia

I myself am from Ngāti rangitihi. For me personally my culture is so important to me. I didn't grow up learning much about it because my māori side of the family were distant and confusing. Therefore I never gained the opportunity to see my marae, learn or be brought up amongst my culture. However I decided to do it for myself. I competed at competitive kapa haka in secondary schools. I planned a visit to my marae up north. I contacted possible whānau to help me learn. And I also study Māori at school and have been for the last 4 years.

lusahn

It's all too easy to live my life as a Pākeha ignoring Māori language entirely. My friends and family generally have, we feel like it's somehow not 'for' us. But I've recently had my eyes opened - keeping te reo Māori alive is the duty and privilege of ALL New Zealanders! I want to be part of the reason it survives and thrives, not part of the reason it sinks into obscurity.

Luke