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'

It's important to keep the Māori Culture, Tikanga, and language alive!

Jaana

We are the luckiest country who hard to use te reo maori as party of our life! !

Isobel

A commitment to Nz and myself.

isobel

It is important for me as a non Maori to show respect for Maori. I have the privilege to do so and it is so cool to be able to learn

Isabella

Aotearoa is becoming a very diverse place. Maori and speaking Reo needs to be at the forefront of everything we do! There needs to be a strong connection between the language, culture and those who reside in New Zealand.

Isaac

To share te reo with the tamariki and kaiako throughout the centre, educating those around with Maori language.

Iri

My mum is learning to speak te reo and teaching us because she doesnt want us to grows up like her with our te reo in her life.

Charlotte

I am taking up the plethora of opportunities available In these recent times that were never available in my callow youth. (Two years of Latin actually turned me off learning another language! I imagine where I would be if Maori was available in the fifties. ) I am Tauiwi and am many parts as a person and one of those parts needs to be able to communicate, understand and relate to tangata whenua and so my growth in Te Reo helps (and is helping) with that and alongside that helps me grow as a person. It also helps me promote the use of Te Reo with other Tauiwi by pronouncing words correctly and using phrases and words in context so that they assimilate the fact that we can all change and make progress in Reo Maori as well as attitude.

Ian

It's part of being a kiwi.

Ian

As a pakeha New Zealander it adds balance to the way I see myself in this land. It adds to my personal sense if identity as a kiwi.

Ian

It's an essential part of a vision to be a truly bi-cultural society.

Ian

While I am an immigrant to New Zealand I am proud to be a Kiwi and passionate about the Māori language and culture. As the leader of my school I am committed to the promoting the spirit of the Treaty by building our confidence and capacity to say and do the right thing. New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world which generally appreciates, respects and celebrates its original settlers and I want to do what I can to further strengthen this resolve.

Ian

I have only been living in Aotearoa for 14 years, but LOVE being part of a bicultural nation and recognise how important it is for our country to make sure te reo Māori is thriving! ! !

Christian

Well I just think that my culture is a big part of who I am. I am a Māori person. That's me, and by taking part, I'm able to express and show to everyone how much it means to me, and how proud I am to be a Māori.

Hyrum

Its valuable and essential to support te reo

Jo

I would love to be fluent in my own launguage, the Mana it would give me just knowing I can and teach my kids

Hula

To bring awareness, and to support a movement that is all for moving forward and learning.

Holly

kei te tautoko au te kaupapa hei whakanui ake te reo Maori i Aotearoa me te so katoa

H

It's my culture, and I care greatly about its strength and I love it wholeheartedly. It means so much to me, as I was constantly introduced to it in Kapa Haka, a whole story which allowed me to be free and express myself.

Hinemoa

It is part of my identity, my roots.

Josephine

Te reo Māori is unique and special to everyone who lives in Aotearoa. I want to treasure it and help normalise it as part of our every day lives.

Hilary

Ko te reo Maori te reo Rangatira! My whanau and I are all participants of the Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Maori movements. We hail from the Hokianga and always endeavour to reflect our values in what we do. Those values are based in our cultural world view and practice. Te reo Maori is a key to open the door to infinite richness and knowledge. Kia kaha tatou ki te reo Maori I nga wa katoa!

Herena

Whakanuia te reo Māori!

Hera

Father recently passed away and didn't take the opportunity when he was alive. I was too whakama to speak to him because he was a native speaker. He has heaps of writings and korero that I want to be able to understand. Using a dictionary does not give the true meaning of what he wrote and said.

Hera

Iti te kupu nui te korero - every little bit helps to keep te reo māori alive. Important to take part so that active participant and whānau see / feel that it is important to participate, no matter where you are in reo proficiency. Arohahaina te reo Māori - te reo Māori to me is my toto - DNA, Te Pū my origins and each kupu that i say, draws me closer to my origins, whakapapa.

Hera

My tamahine, so that their reo will not only survive but thrive! My tipuna, who were denied their reo so many years ago. Myself, for my wairua.

Sarah

Ko tōku reo tōku ohooho Ko tōku reo tōku māpihi maurea. Ko tētahi whāinga nui ki a mātou ō te kura nei i tēnei tau kia kaha te reo Māori ā-kura, ā-whānau, ā-hapori hoki. Heoi i timata mātou ngā kaiako ki te ako i te reo Māori i te timatanga o tā mātou hui-ā-kaimahi ia te wiki. I hoko mātou i ngā pukapuka nā Scotty Morrison mō ia kaimahi hei āwhina i a mātou ki te ako i te reo. Ka huitahi mātou katoa ō te kura ia te Mane ki te ako i ngā waiata me ngā tikanga Māori. Kei ia akomanga he ingoa hou (ngā rākau taketake o Aotearoa) me ngā tohu reo e rua mō ngā wāhanga o te kura. Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu. Mā tēnei me ētahi atu mahi kia whakapakari ai te reo Māori ki roto i tō mātou kura auraki.

Henderson South School

Te Reo Māori is a taonga tuku iho. As a pakeha I feel it is my responsibility to learn and use te Reo Māori to help revitalise it after the measure taken by pakeha nearly caused the loss of it. As a kaiako it is my responsibility to help my akonga, both Māori and pakeha appreciate and value this taonga. As a grannie to Māori tamariki I want my moko to understand their birthright.

Helen

Te Reo Māori is really important, and I want to help look after it.

Helen

I have lost me. Im on a journey to self discover WHO AM I. Where do I belong?

Helen

Maori people, language and culture have been marginalised for long enough. It's time to step up and be an ally.

Helen

I want to understand more than simple greetings in this beautiful language.

Helen

Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Maori, mei kore ake ko te reo kia rere ka mate te iwi Maori, ara tatou nei nga tangata whenua.

Heleena

In Corrections we work closely with Maori every day and its important to be able to speak some Te Reo and have more knowledge of Tikanga in order to minimise causing offence to our Paihere.

Heidi

Maori is my culture, Maori is me. Without it, I dont know who I am. I find connection through my culture.

Heeni

To support my caulture

Heavenleigh

Because learning te reo Maori is a great way to connect to where I live, its history and peoples. It is enriching. I am also a doctor in an ED and knowing a but of Maori helps me connect to my patients, their whanau and my team, and helps me deliver more equitable, connected care. Mauri ora

Heather

It where I come from, a part of me. I want my moko to be able to hear it, speak it, sing it.

Heather

Personally, as a pakeha with nearly 200 years of whakapapa here in Aotearoa NZ (since 1823), I feel an affinity for Te Ao Māori, having wanted to speak Te Reo as a child. As kaiako of nga mokopuna I believe I have responsibility to encourage and facilitate an understanding of and love for Te Reo in their hearts and minds. As kaiako, I have a responsibility to practice my teaching with the principles and tenets if Te Tiriti O Waitangi - part of this is to nurture the language. Our ECE curriculum is bicultural, and thus there is professional expectation to support this for all our mokopuna.

Heather

To introduce Maori language and its culture to those willing to learn and participate.

Heath

to do more than just acknowledge te reo māori, to value and legitimise te reo māori as one of our official languages of Aotearoa. Te Reo Māori is the reo of aroha, when it is spoken the essence of te reo is manaaki and aroha. The use of te reo at mahi provides our patiences with a sense that we value and uplift tangata and culture of Māori. Taking part is to encourage others to join the mass embrace of te reo māori - it evidences the number of people affirming the reo, the culture and then naturally the people. The more people hear and see te reo māori, the more it becomes our daily practices.

TeAo

Because te reo Maaori is the language of Aotearoa. It is beautiful and unique and as a kaiako and parent I want to continue my journey with learning and teaching te reo and te ao Maaori to my tamariki.

Hayley

I studied Te Reo Māori language last year at Te Wananga O Aotearoa and it was just a amazing experience, I learnt so much and now I am passing my knowledge and experiences onto the other staff at preschool

hayley

I use Te Reo everyday in my home with my tamariki as I learnt Te Reo in school and believe it’s important for my tamariki to know as it’s apart of their culture

Haylee

Educate the younger generation about the importance of the language so going forward they can be better than we are in respecting and upholding Te ao Māori within society

Harriet

Part of my culture and my school

Harper

Kia takaro

Hariata

Because it is so important for not only māori to learn te reo in order for it to become as normal as English in NZ as it should be.

Hannah

Te reo maori should be used more by more everyday. It should be naturally apart of being a New Zealander 🇳🇿❤️

Hannah

As a kaiako at a high school with a large Māori roll it is essential to acknowledge those ākonga because of the bicultural foundation of Aotearoa.

Hannah

Participating in what's unique about this land

Hana

Important for our akonga to use Te Reo in their everyday world and feel comfortable doing so

Haley

For my children to live confidently and comfortably, as proficient bilingual speakers of te reo Māori and English, communicating in both languages during their day to day life

Haley

To be a part of the bigger picture. To nurture the language for future generations.

Hakaraia

I want to speak te reo fluently.

Natasha

This is our national language. It’s unique to New Zealand. I teach our tamariki who would love to honour their heritage and feel proud to be Maori. I love celebrating our tamariki . 💖💖💖. I will listen for waiata and will play Aotearoa by Stan Walker 😃🎉👌

Greta

Ko te reo Māori te reo tuatahi, te reo taketake o tēnei whenua. I tata ngaro i ngā tau ka hipa nei. Ki te kore tātou -- Māori mai, Pākehā mai -- e whakamahi i te reo, mā wai te whakaora? Ina ka ākona e koe he reo hōu, ka whiwhi koe i tētahi ao hōu.

Greg

I would my like family and I to be bilingual

Greg

To promote te reo

Greg

My journey to understand the history, culture and my place within it has led to a desire to understand and be fluent in Te Reo Maori.

Grant

I think it's vital that students have an understanding of Te Reo and that it gets incorporated into our lessons and classrooms more effectively.

Graeme

To honour and support our culture and language.

Golden

I have just started my Te reo māori journey and this is another step in my commitment to learn

Glenda

I'm taking part because 'He pai ake te iti i te kore' (A little is better than none).

Ginni

It's part of my heritage and I want te reo to flourish.

Gina

Because it us our official language and it has and does have the power to bring us all together no matter what our background is .

Gina

I am a Teacher Aide at a school using Te Reo.

Gillian

It's an acknowledgement of my whakapapa, and been a long time coming.

Gillian

it's a language i grew up around and it's not heard as much as we used it now and it should be. It's a wonderful memories of my childhood from the 70s and i miss it.

Gillian

I am on a learning journey with Te Reo so the children I teach and I are learning together

Gill

I need and want to learn more.

Gill

he tautoko au te reo o matou tupuna.

Gilly

For the Future of Māori Culture

Gianni-Mia

It's a way of recognising the specialness of this place, and the people who first made it home.

Gerald

It's important for me to take part because I want to engage more into Te Reo Maori. By supporting this kaupapa this will help me improve my Te Reo and hopefully be able to persuade others around me (family, friends, partner) to want to learn too. I also believe that as a maori you should be willing to learn Te Reo Maori or have a little bit of knowledge because it's important for us to know our cultural backgrounds.

Georgina

Because its important for new zealanders to embrace there national languages

Georgia

It’s so important to keep such an important taonga alive, especially in light of its vilification in the past.

Georgia

Doing my part to connect to the language of the whenua and taking steps like learning te reo to honor the treaty and join on the journey of reconciliation with Māori

Georgia

To balance the books

Geoffrey

Te Reo is our lanuguage. I see the language has also many lessons or rather tikanga that will help our nation reshape its future. We should be promote Te Reo more as it identifies us as tangata whenua of our land - within this world we live in. Its our identity - no one else. . . kia kaha, kia maia, kia manuwanu

Geoff

To understand and learn then share the knowledge

Genevieve

To honour the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

Genevieve

It is important for me to take part because I believe that every child should learn te reo Maaori from the moment that they start school. And on that note, teachers should also learn te reo Maaori as well. Aotearoa will eventually become a koorero Maaori nation when this happens!

Geneveive

I am currently teaching Social Movements as an inquiry with my class. It is great to be part of this event as NZers and promote that idea of change.

Gemma

Because I want to learn the native language of Aotearoa. It is important because I want to be apart of the change that this country needs.

Gem

Ko te Reo Māori he taonga tuku iho mo ngā tangata o Aotearoa katoa. Ngā mihi!

Gavin

Just to show support for the kaupapa mainly

Gary

I am an import ( from South Africa) and feel it’s important to know a bit more about how NZ got to where it is today

Garon

I need to be a role model for my own children and others.

Gareth

Because I've got to get started learning te reo

Gail

Important part of New Zealand's history and what makes us unique today.

Gabrielle

To create a more understanding and connected New Zealand

Gabrielle

I am in my senior years. My mother was Māori and my father English and as a child I never learned my mothers tongue. After living in Australia I returned to NZ and eventually took up a course with TWoA at Canning Crescent in Mangere to learn Te Reo. I LOVE my language with a passion, and I'm not a great speaker but I am learning and for me now this will be a lifelong journey. I feel proud that I can now converse in te reo comfortably enough to be understood. It is a privilege to speak our beautiful language.

Frankie

It’s a beginning.

Frankie

Revitalise our language

Francis

Mō oku tamariki

Francis

My heritage and my whakapapa

Franceska

Because I'm Māori, and I want to be able to speak my language without feeling whakamā.

Frances

Maori language and culture is something so special and unique to us as New Zealanders and we ALL have a responsibility to preserve it

Frances

Part of our NZ culture!

Fran