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'

Kia ora koutou, teenaa koutou katoa! Ko Maukatere te mauka, ko Rakahuri te awa, ko Makawhiua te waka, he uri ahau noo Kai Tahu raaua ko Ngaati Porou! Ko tino nui ki ahau teenei kaupapa, mo te haereka o te reo Maaori ki waekanui te motu katoa. He kaimaninirau ahau, ko maninirau te kupu Maaori moo circus, ara ko maninirau toohoku waa harikoa nui, whaihoki, ko toohoku hiahia ki te tiritiri te kaakano o teenei kaupapa ki kaa tamaariki me rakatahi Maaori, moo te whakaharikoa ki a raatou. Ko teenei toohoku kaupapa i teetehi whakatauki noohoku i tito: Maninirau naa Maaori, Moo Maaori, I te reo Maaori. Circus by Maaori, For Maaori, In Maaori. Ko teenei he kiriata o toohoku mahi whakaari "Iti Kahurangi", titiro mai! https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=R-yMPh3fFdU&t=11s&ab_channel=Ignauhak Kia pai too koutou waa Maaori!

Kahuraki

As a young wāhine Māori, I believe firmly in the revitalisation of our reo for everyone, the same reo our tīpuna used for hundreds of years before it was stripped away from many of them. Te Reo Māori is a unique and integral part of this country's history and mātauranga Māori, and so I personally believe that upkeeping Te Reo Māori is important, not only for us but for the future generations of tamariki

Raiha

Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Maaori

Anna

As a Pakeha grandparent my 'why' is my mokopuna.

Kayleen

So my tamariki are strong and proud of who they are! 😝

Natasha

If you think with language, then being monolingual is a limitation to your capacity for thought. Te reo Māori, provides us with a unique opportunity to expand our language, and thus expand our thought. And through bilingualism some may discover a state where thoughts can exist free of the words. Kei te hiakai au ki te ako te reo Māori!

Prageeth

I want to be able to korero in te reo Māori & need to stop being shy and grow my kupu . . . that's how I'll get better

Eleanor

Learning Te Reo is important to me as it connects me to my whakapapa. It empowers me, it instills a part of myself I felt was missing. It strengthens my personal view of who I am

Connie

I can not speak te reo and would love to learn my language. I do know a few waiata so on this day I will listen and sing along to Maori waiata.

Tania

Kia ora! I've started making a new comic, which story's main character was grown up in a Maori family, so I've decided to learn and research everything about this culture. I'm from Hungary, Middle Europe, so really far away from this world, and it's causes a lot of hard working to get some informations, so I've just started learning te reo Maori few months ago, to make the reasearching easier and my main character much more authentic vibe in the story of it. I really enjoy the feeling when every cultural things get some meanings for me, more and more with the way of learning and searching. I really like this culture, and I'm very excited every single time when I see a sentence in te reo Maori and I've already understand it. So I keep on learning Ngā mihi nui! Réka

Reka

Because we are blessed to be a bicultural nation and helping our tamariki understand the value of Te Reo and Tikanga is a vital part of their heritage and legacy.

Cristal

Tena koe! Learning the language is the way to understand Maori culture at it's truest and most basic level. Nga mihi Priya

Priya

My want of learning is so I can speak every day! Participate in korero, understand and respond. The more I speak, the more those around me (whanau, tamariki) learn. My hope is that my whanau and I will be fluent and this will be our everyday language.

Kerryn

Ntm ma te Korero Mäoro i roto i o tätou kainga Ka ora ake ano to tatou reo rangatira

Donna

To build confidence in each other to speak te reo in our ece and embrace te ao Maori.

Jodie

Why?- it is who we are and what we are to become, as kaiako, tamariki, whanau and community It is a commitment to maori language and culture now and for the future- to firmly cement this taonga as part of our identity

Haley

Ko whānau he take nui rawa māku kia koorero te reo Māori.

Lee

Ki au nei, ko taku aroha mo te reo o toku mama, o oku tipuna.

Carol

No Ingarangi ahau no reira he tika te whakataukī ko te reo te taikura o te whakaaro marama. He tino hohonu, he tino ātaahua hoki te reo Māori. Ma tātou te reo e whakairia ki runga.

Chrissy

Learning the reo will complete me.

Ann

I do it to gain knowledge and to encourage my sons to learn the heritage from there familys generations before them I hope to better understand from what I do now Its a special language that I wish not to fade away do to the worlds use of technology and to be able to acknowledge what our family's sacrificed for us to be here now and have what we do

Shan

Te Reo Māori is part of the culture of Aotearoa, and part of my culture as a young Māori. I haven't been brought up being able to speak the language, but now, I am pursuing it as I recognise the importance of language in keeping culture alive. Te Reo is part of my whakapapa and I want to be able to pass it on to future generations.

kia ora ai te reo kamehameha o te whenua nei

Glenis

To feel more deeply connected to my roots! To be able to normalise Te Reo where ot can become our future generations first language!

Cassia

Be the change you want to see. If I want to live in a truly bilingual country where the language of the tangata whenua is commonplace, safe and valued, I have to be one of those walking the talk.

Liz

I am a Nanny to mokopuna who need to know there whakapapa if I don't tell them their mokopuna will never know who there Nana Latimer was

Ashleigh

Ehara ahau i te tangata noa. . . He Māori ahau, he uri nō rātou mā Ehara taku reo i te reo noa. . . He reo rangatira tonu, te reo o rātou mā Ka kōrero ahau i te reo rangatira i te mea ko au te whakatīnanatanga o ngā moemoeā o aku tīpuna Nō rātou te reo, nō rātou hoki ahau

Te Hāmua

Te reo Māori is a beautiful language which can open doors to a whole world of knowledge/mātauranga Māori. I would encourage anyone and everyone in Aotearoa and beyond to learn te reo Māori - it is unique to our country and is part of our culture. It's never to late to learn. As a Māori I think it's very important we learn about who we are - our culture identity and language - this can be a foundation to give us the strength to succeed in whatever we do. Kia kaha rā tātou ki te ako i te reo Māori hei oranga mō tātou katoa otirā mō ngā uri whakatipu o te āpōpō.

Patrick

It’ is my right to speak reo maori 😍 to speak reo maori I have to learn te reo maori.

Sariah Abish

Kia ora ano e te whanau o Taura Whiri i te reo Maori Ko te tino kaupapa ko te whakawhiti korero, whakawhiti whakaaro me te whakawhanaungatanga o roto i a Aotearoa. He kaiako ahau e inoi atu ana mo te whiriwhiringa te reo Maori me ona tikanga ki nga tangata katoa ahakoa te aha no hea koe, ko wai koe. Kia Maori mai a Aotearoa. Ko te mea tuarua, kia whakawhetai atu ki nga tangata a whakakaha ai te reo Maori i nga wa katoa . . . he toa rangatira ratou. Aa no reira, nga tino manaakitanga ki runga i a tatou katoa Naku noa Aroha Reid

Aroha

To me, Te reo is such a beautiful language and I feel a great sense of pride when it is spoken. My why is to reignite the confidence I had when I was younger, and use it as part of my daily life again.

Manu

My Dads wish before he passed away a few weeks ago was to learn Māori, he spent his younger years working on the farm and so did not have the time to learn Te Reo. He would listen to us use basic commands with our son and would ask each time what they meant. He loved listening to Mr 5 say his kai karakia before each and every meal. So I along with my husband would teach Dad a few basic phrases in Māori and share their meanings in English like e noho - sit, e tu - stand, wharepaku - toilet, waiata - sing, ano - again, taiho all of which were words we would use to assist him while taking care of him. I want to be able to learn more myself and continue teaching my son in honor of my Dad. "Poipoia te kakano, kia puawai - Nurture the seed and it will blossom"

Becks

Whanau is most important to me. We now have a mokopuna but I am not allowed to show her. I first learned some reo about 33 years ago at Wintec where we were taught using the Rakau method- " he aha te tae o tenei rakau? I then went to other night classes to learn some more and also attended University classes since I was teaching at Te Whare Wananga o Waikato. Some of my teachers there were Timoti Karetu, Murumara Moorfield, Te Haumihiata Mason and I got to meet Hirini Melbourne, Te Wharehuia Milroy and others. It was all thoroughly enjoyable and the staff were very friendly and welcoming (well except Sam! ). I have been able to use my Maori on many occasions where understanding of protocols and expressions were important( eg te wa o te mua for the past). Waikato is currently having a review of structural racism in the institution which review is being promoted by the Dean Brendan Hokowhitu(FRS), the Tohunga, Pou Temara and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith. I am tautoko to one of the current Maori staff in her submission to the review and am submittting myself on serious racist effects in the Wananaga. I believe Maori language would be more easily learned through waiata and focusing on the language structures in the waiata since it involves action learning- just a thought.

tony

It's what connects me to being Māori, it's my language so I have a responsibility to ensure it lives on for generations to come.

Dinah

Te reo Māori and to te āo Māori is what makes New Zealand unique in the world. if we as New Zealanders do not stand up and be counted and strive to learn and acknowledge te reo Māori it will die. it is the duty of all us who live in Aotearoa be we Pākeha, Māori or recent immigrants to ensure that a culture and a language exists after we as individuals have left this earth.

Takapuna Primary School

Aotearoa is a bilingual country

Pru

Te Reo is more than just a language. Learning the language and using it is also a sign of respect, It is essential to keep the language alive for partnership, participation and protection of the Maori culture.

Robert

Tō tātou Reo Rangatira is the language of my parents, and their mokopuna. Its my privilege to have been raised listening to them and to now be listening to their mokopuna. It is my responsibility to learn their Reo.

Isa

Because Te Reo Maori is a beautiful language and not only be fought for but should be thriving.

Brooke

Te reo Māori is a taonga belonging in Aotearoa. It has no other place to call home. As we protect our kiwi, our kaka, our kereru, we must protect and preserve and promote the first language of this land that was nearly lost.

Andrea

I want to be part of bringing back an important language so that we can all enter the world of te ao Māori. I’m tired of not understanding Māori worldview and living in the comfort of my Pākehā privilege. It’s not fair. I hope that we can all thrive happily and healthily alongside one another! I figure learning Te Reo is part of this journey. X

Karen

I am a 65 yr old Maori woman unable to speak my own language. - yet and I feel so whakama. Te Reo Maori is so beautiful so to have a week where I can be part of doing special things myself to use Te Reo I will + having an entire week focused on Maori language is fabulous and fun!

Sharon

I am urban Maori raised in an English speaking household. I want to connect with my culture and honour the unique gift of my tupuna by learning te reo and help be a part of the movement to increase use and awareness of not only the beautiful language but the deeper awareness that understanding tikanga Maori could bring to the wellbeing of all New Zealanders through transformational change.

Claudia

Because Te Reo is unique to New Zealand, I am personally proud as a Pakeha to share this proviledge. Excuse spelling. I am a proud Kiwi and love our Heritage. Kia Kaha

Gwen

Tēna tātou kua hikina ahau i tēnei wero kia kaha rangona aku tamariki i te Reo Māori e rere ana. Ko tētahi atu take i hikina au i te kaupapa nei nā te rangatira o te kaupapa.

Rangiwahia

As an Irish person I am aware of the struggles involved in keeping our native language alive and allowing it to thrive in our modern society. I am delighted to do my bit for Te Reo Maori. Kia kaha

Teresa

Nga mihi Kia koutou katoa I've just started my te reo journey (40) I want to help keep our language/culture/tikanga alive and help educate anybody who wants to learn along the way.

Tonii

Respecting the reo of New Zealand and learning

Deb

I’m a teacher and for me it’s about living the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. I moved here from Canada 20 years ago and I think it’s important that I model being a life long learner to my students and whānau. It’s important to take a risk and learn to speak more Māori at school-normalising Te reo Māori.

Andrea

Myself and my little whānau live in Australia, I have had to keep myself up to date with my reo and now my husband is on his journey which helps our household korero. It is important to be apart of my culture, no matter where we live, in keeping our reo going and tikanga alive. Things change very rapidly and the future growth for our culture I would like to be apart of.

Kiriwai

E ngakau nui rawa atu ahau ki te ako I tò tatou reo me òna tikanga

Peter

I am very proud when I hear Te Reo Maori being spoken, so I will endeavour to use it as much as possible at my school in the next week.

Ruth (Gordie)

Ko te reo te Mauri o te mana Maori

Pirihira

My mokos are my why! ! Ensure they know their whakapapa and be proud of it! !

Casey

Ko Michelle toku ingoa. Ko Titirangi te maunga, No Turanganui a Kiwa ahau. I have lived in NZ and Turanga my whole life. I was educated in local schools and taught all the Hirini Melbourne waiata and the basics of Te Reo. Now that I am a teacher I believe all tamariki of NZ deserve to have the same experiences and more! We learn about our place, our Marae, and the Maori way of being. Our classes are all named after Atua and we learn to be Kaitiaki of Te Ao. Much of a Maori way of being speaks to me on a spiritual level and I believe is inclusive and valuable for all our tamariki. Being Kaitiaka of Tawhirimatea in our school, we live by the whakatauaki - Hokia ki o maunga kia purea e koe I nga hou o Tawhirimatea! Return to your ancestral mountains to be cleansed by the winds of Tawhirimatea! An important thing to remember, never forget where we come from and what we have been through. Use it to learn and lead us forward. Take the guidance of our tupuna! Arohanui.

Michelle

Te Reo Maori is our Language We need to make sure that it is here for the future Generations to come

Maxina

I really want to try to gain confidence to speak, pronounce & understand some Te Reo. I have some very basic language. I want to feel confident to have a go & for it to be okay for my pronunciation to be incorrect, but please let me try & help me to learn.

Penny

Because after working with both ends of child development from birth to adolescents, ive seen the affects that lack of identity has on the rangatahi of Aotearoa so for me to keep Māori alive by using te reo Māori, practicing tikanga its important for the wellbeing of Māori to have their mauri and stand strong as Māori. Also since ive gone into depths of te ao Māori and understanding maramataka and other practices I've realised how beautiful the culture is. And as a 2nd generation Pākehā I feel its my obligation as a New Zealand citizen to korero i te reo Māori.

Ben

Te reo Māori is a taonga we all need to nurture and grow. Wouldn’t it be cool for Pōneke to be a te reo Māori city by 2040? That’s the plan and I want to be part of that!

Kate

I am a New Zealander of European origin (several generations back ) and I have made several failed attempts to learn Te Reo Maori over the years. I returned to NZ 12 years ago after spending 12 years living overseas in French places and began teaching music again and also ended up teaching French. One day it just struck me as all wrong to be teaching a foreign language when I couldn't even speak the language of the original New Zealanders. After questioning myself over whether it was OK as a pakeha to do this ( was it tokenism ? was it my place as a pakeha ? etc ) I came to the decision ( realisation ? ) that it was actually my duty as a NZer to learn this language. It's the best way to give the language, and therefore the culture, the respect, value and place it should have in our country. So I'm doing it - learning through Te Wananga O Aotearoa and wanting to take part on Sept 14th. The best outcome would be that it reminds many of us to use these words every day and that we all do it more and more . . . .

Christine

Preservation and revitalisation of Te Reo Māori is most important to me for the future generations to come.

Eruera

Arohatia te reo Māori rangatira Kia mau ki tōku māoritanga 💜💗💛❤️💙🤎🤍💚🧡

Rata

Language is the key to understanding a culture. As a kaiako it is part of my role to ignite interest and understanding in te ao Māori to our tamariki, the tangata of the future. Kia kaha te Reo Māori.

Michaela

As a New Zealander I feel a deep sense of responsibility to help retain our cultural, spiritual and natural heritage. It is our identity. Māori culture is unique, beautiful, friendly, happy, deep and nurturing. The principles of kaitiakitanga can teach us all how to move forward in an ever changing world with respect, consideration and appreciation of Papatūānuku. Learning to speak te reo is an important part of that understanding.

Jennifer

I want to show my students that I'm learning Te Reo Māori from them and alongside them. I'm going to play "Whare Whare" i te reo Māori for my Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori

Jenny

My why is for my children and grandchildren. I really would love for them to be raised in a country in which the native language is thriving and accepted by all.

Johnson

I WANT TO HONOUR TE TIRITI O WAITANGI AS AN IMMIGRANT TO THIS COUNTRY. Having studied at beginner level I want to play my part as a teacher and use te reo Māori. Te Reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa and it's beautiful!

Karen

Aotearoa's National Language

Blair

He taringa, he reo, he whatu mō aku tamariki, mō ōku hapū, mō ōku iwi otirā he kanohi mō ngā tāngata e hiahia ana ki te akohia ngā tini āhuatanga o Te Ao Māori.

Rachelle

My why is to show that even though I am not Māori, I am able to respect and willing want to learn and understand the language of my husband and children. To show them the importance of their language, and encourage them to keep learning.

Emily

Te reo Māori is a beautiful language. We are blessed to be able to share this knowledge together.

Phoebe

To embrace and enjoy Māori spoken everyday.

Abe

Both my partner and myself grew up with little te reo in our whare. We are choosing to change this by learning, so we can teach our tamariki (and ourselves) an important part of our culture.

Lisa

Because Te Reo is so important and our tamariki need to hear it and speak it more for the language to grow and be respected

Amanda

Naa ngaa atua i takoha mai he reo moo taatau te iwi Maaori hei koorero. Noo reira whakatairangangia raa te reo Maaori koorerongia whakanuingia whamaua nei kia ita

Carl

My ancestors sailed here in the biggest ocean on the planet, and risked their lives for their vision of a better, bigger one. If I don't learn and get better with my Reo I am not repaying the debt of their vision.

Zeb

Because I believe te reo Maori and the wide spread of it is important to all New Zealand citizens. By taking part I am making a commitment to my on-going learning and encouraging others to join too so that we can grow this moment to two or three million! Plus, it's a beautiful language to speak, to sing and to share.

Ronelle

I akō au I tāku kaiako e Putputi ā Te Wānunga ō Aotearoa. Inaianei kei te pracitiki au! Ka hiahia au I te reo Māori mō tātou. Kia ōra rā tātou. Ngā mihi nui. Āwatea.

Kristin

Kia ora e te whānau o Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori I'm taking part because I want to make sure that te reo Māori, our precious national taonga, is spoken, celebrated and becomes a part of every household in Aotearoa. I'm so grateful to our team at ACC for making it possible for me, at the age of 50, to really start gripping up the reo and feeling more confident with it, both in my mahi and in my life outside of work. For one of our ACC whānau it's korero Māori only during Mahuru - and it's completely wonderful to have that mānawanawa, awhi and tautoko from a colleague. Kei te hiamo mo Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori! Tēnā rawa atu katoa, Nell

Nell

Learning and understanding Te Reo Maori completes who I am.

Barry

Kia ora. I work in a Rehab Service. One quarter of the people I work with are Māori. I am trying hard to learn Te Reo Māori and also the tikanga. My goal is for Māori to feel as at home in this Service as they do in their own home or on their own marae.

Terry

The more people that speak te reo the better for the future!

davida

Kia tau te wairua 💙

Lucy

I believe that speaking te reo Māori honours Māori people in Aotearoa and the people that came before them. As a teacher it is so important to put a huge emphasis on this so my students grow up knowing and understanding the how and the why behind learning te reo and Māori culture in general!

Bonnie

Te reo has allowed me to gain a greater understanding of te ao Māori and it's relationship with the whenua, Moana and rangi. Learning about our indigenous culture will allow us to better protect papatūānuku and improve our collective wellbeing.

Liam

I am non Māori but I love the language. This is my 4th year of learning te reo. I am 72 so please don’t let age hold you back. It’s a beautiful language, the original language of our land so come on Kiwis. . . get out there and learn!

Jude

It's just the logical and right thing to do! ! ! ! ! Te Reo Māori is a beautiful language intrinsically linked to its culture and history and is unique to Aotearoa NZ. It's so important for us to look after this taonga and encourage more people to embrace it. I'm a 1st generation Pākehā NZer on a long journey to ako te reo and am constantly surprised and intrigued by what I learn. And I'm a language teacher!

Vicki

It's a chance to recognise and mark the way things are, how they have been and to look to the future for how we would like things to be. If Te Reo Maori not practised, understood and appreciated it will be lost, and with that will be the loss of people and culture unique to this whenua.

Ellie

I want to take part to inspire rangatahi, especially my students and to lead by example. Furthermore. To give them the opportunity to be part of something bigger, part of history in the making and the chance for them to be a good ancestor. I also hope that one day ALL of Aotearoa will value and cherish this taonga we have in Te Reo Māori and to understand that when you understand someones language, you understand the people. This can bring us together as a country. Kia Kaha te Reo Māori

Krystal

E arohatia ana mātou Te Reo Māori me ona Tikanga i ngā wā katoa

Heidi

Tēna koutou e te whanau i tēnei kaupapa Ko Maungapohatu te Maunga Tapu Ko Tauranga te awa Ko Mataatua te Waka Ko Te Mapou Te marae Ko Tane Nui a Rangi Te whare Tupuna Ko Tamakaimoana Te hapū Ko Tuhoe te Iwi Ko TeOwai Kingi tōku ingoa I whanau mai toko wha āku tamariki engari Tekau ma rima āku tamariki whangai. Rua tekau ma iwa āku mokopuna Rua tekau ma rima āku mokopuna tuarua no reira tino tino whakahirahira ki Te kōrero Māori i ngā wā Katoa, i Te kainga ki waho. . Tekau ma tahi āku mokopuna tuarua e Haere ana ki ngā Kōhanga Reo. Ko Te tumanako pai tēnei kōrero ki a koutou. No reira Tēna koutou Tēna koutou Tēna koutou Katoa.

Teowai

It's one of our official languages and as its the indigenous one I want to be part of the solution.

Heather

To honour our Tūpuna by keeping our Reo alive forever.

Ness

To make the most of having a nation wide network to inspire and use Reo and waiata to learn and teach. I want to share the dream of my nanny Liz Hunkin, those who have walked with her and our tipuna to teach the reo to as many peoe as possible to keep it alive. I cannot share footage as it involves Akonga and staff permissions for a lot os people.

Kelly

I think te reo maori is beautiful and as New Zealanders it’s part of our uniqueness and heritage.

Bryony

I think what made taking part was that we want Te Reo Maori to be our new normal in our whare. We are still learning but every word, phrase we learn is added to our whanau vocabulary! Being able to revive our Reo alongside our Tamariki is what it's all about!

Jonnelle

If I don't take action then I am doing injustice to my language and to my people. Many advocates for the inclusion of Te Reo in our kura have added their voice. It comes down to me to keep their vision alive and add to their voices. If I can show to be proud of speaking Te Reo then hopefully others will embrace my language. That Te Reo is a beautiful spiritual language that speaks from the heart and connects us to our essence in life.

normie

I want to help keep our language, our culture alive for our kids :)

Natahlia

Kei te ako ahau i te reo Māori ki te Wānanga o Aotearoa, ka haere tonu ahau ki tōku haerenga ia wiki ia wiki, ia rā ia rā.

Megan

I am learning to speak my native younger as my mother's side of the family is twelve generations of maori and I want to be able to reo to my ancestors and thank the different iwis for letting me walk on their land when I do

Merlin