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'

He ngākau nui nōku ki tōku ahurea Māori, kāore he mea tua atu ki a au te whakatairanga i tōku Māoritanga.

Rangitiaria

Kia ora, I am a Maori returning to Aotearoa after many years abroad and I have started my Te Reo journey because I value the contribution it is to understanding Te Ao Maori. Revitalization of Te Reo is imperative to strengthen and build on our Maori culture in Aotearoa. This is important so that my mokopuna may know who they are and where they come from. Nga mihi Rangi

Rangimarie

To connect to my culture and the language of my ancestors. To celebrate my culture and identity.

Terangi

Te reo Māori is a taonga for all our tamariki in Aotearoa. Its part of who we are as a nation. Our tamariki at our kura absolutely love learning te reo Māori and doing kapa haka. We are building a future generation of Aotearoa who are competent, confident and passionate about te reo!

Raiha

It is important for me to take part because this is my partners culture and language.

Rahkeem

Because I think it is so important to be an active citizen if Aotearoa and learning te Reo is an integral part of this

Rachel

I have just returned to settle back to NZ after many years abroad. My knowledge of the Moari culture and language is small. I have a deep love and appreciation for NZ and I really want to immerse myself in understanding my countries history, diversity and culture.

Rachel

This is part of my cultural heritage, Also people / children of Maori decent are well incorporated and thought of In my workplace there’s quiet a drive when it comes to Maori Families, so I think even if it’s just the basic words we use during Maori language week least it’s been incorporated and we are been multi cultural. As there’s other cultural activities that we participate in throughout the year. Also after ideas of activities (for 2-3 yr olds) so that we can do one activity each day to support Maori language week.

Rachel

I'm living in town where everybody speaks beautiful te reo. I'd like to be able to pronounce it correctly and use the reo on a daily basis with my own children and the children I work with.

Rachael

To preserve the Te Reo in New Zealsnd and normalise it to make it a part of our daily lives.

Quinton

Te reo is the national language that we want to help keep alive in all our tamariki and whanau that we work with

Pip

I'm half māori and lebanese but I was only taught english & I want to do what I can to learn te reo maori.

Pieta

Learn the language

Phyl

I want to participate more in Maori events and to honour our national language by increasing my ability to use it

Paula

Because it creates a strong shared bond with others who also value the reo and who recognise the importance of the reo as a unique language with unique values implicit in the language. The reo also adds greatly to the sense of belonging to this country and the best values it represents.

Paul

Because Maori language and culture is the most beautiful part of our country and I want to keep it around.

Olivia

Ki te kore to tatou reo Maori, horekau to tatou mauri. Kei kiia he kiri porouri nahe ano tatou. Hei ko taku he korero, he hoatu i te reo hei oranga ma tatou, ma taku reanga

Nikau

It’s important for us kiwis to be proud of our roots and represent our country with our ataahua culture 😀

Nicole

Isthmus exists to create unique places. Our kaupapa is based on deepening the relationships between land, people and culture. Matauranga māori is one of our four strategic goals and this is a great way to get closer to realising it.

nick

For my partner

Nick

I am on my te reo maori journey, started during lockdown.

Ngawai

Te Reo is a passion of mine and one that needs to be engaged in with all areas of life. Teaching gives me the opportunity to share my passion as well as learn alongside my students and get better at Reo myself.

Andrew

New Zealand Opera is our national opera company and we have been thinking a lot about what this means for Aotearoa. As a result we are in the process of implementing a bi-cultural framework and we see supporting Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori as a wonderful way to engage with Te Reo Māori for the benefit of our understanding and as a means to connect our people and audiences with such an important movement in Aotearoa.

Awhimai

We want to be a part of the 50, 000+ other registered language champions celebrating te Reo with a defining moment: the Māori Language Moment.

New Zealand

As a volunteer community worker I do work with whanau and love to learn more about te Reo Maori and maoritanga.

Nettie

One of my work colleagues (Ellie) is really getting into speaking te reo Māori and learning more about mātauranga Māori. Her enthusiasm is infectious. She is bringing us all along on her journey. Ellie is the one that suggested it and is championing taking part.

Neroli

Because I am Maori. Because I teach. Because we are New Zealand.

Natasha

To grow my use of te reo Māori in practice, celebrate how much I value te reo Māor, and to be a role model for the staff and students at Endeavour School.

Natalie

I have been living in NZ for 7 years and I have just started learning Te Reo since last year when I started working for the public service. I feel this is extremely important for me to be part of the society of this beautiful country.

Natalia

To be a part of one of you

Muhammad Tamzid

I arrived here as a refugee from family violence and attempted murder, able to come because of Australian citizenship, born in England. I am queer, and trans, and disabled. Every step of the way in my journey to recovery, I have been welcomed and treated so kindly by Māori in my new community, and I am committed to doing all I can to honor that kindness and the true spirit and text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as it was intended in the te reo Māori text. My people caused and still cause immeasurable harm, and while I cannot undo that harm, I do not want to contribute, and will fight to dismantle the systems that perpetuate it wherever I can. I've been here nearly three years now. I am mostly bedbound as a consequence of disability, and do not go outside as a result. I am isolated in this way from making tangible social connections. By being able to take part in this, I feel connection, even just for an hour. It is my hope that I will be able to participate non-digitally, next time or whenever the pandemic is over. Tēnā koutou!

Morgan

My mum was a Kiwi who moved to Australia when she was 24. When I was 24, I moved to NZ, and discovered a big family, many of them Maori people who speak te reo. I want to honour them and this country that I now call home. I am currently in quarantine in Auckland, waiting to be reunited with friends and family after four years in Spain. As I landed at Auckland Airport, I started to sing Welcome Home, by Dave Dobbyn: There's a woman with her hands trembling. . . Haere mai. When that first person said Kia ora to me, I knew I was home. x

Morag

Because Te Reo Māori is the Conner stone of all Māori values

Moko

Te reo Māori is the language of the land! It is important to keep te reo alive within our school and among our tamariki.

Moey

Living in Sydney is an obvious separation from whenua, so practising Te Reo Maori is a fulfilling and wonderful way for me to reconnect with my roots. It’s also a great way to teach my wife and extended whanau about Te Reo Maori and its rich history.

Miritana

Kia rere te reo Maori kia Maori to tātou ao❣️

Miriama

I value the place of Te Reo in our schools and want more people (students and staff) to embrace and develop their understanding of Maori culture and language.

Miriam

My whakapapa descended from Rangitane and I have been researching my heritage. I am also in my first year of my Early childhood Teaching Degree and want to learn to speak te reo more fluently.

Michelle

Keeping the language alive helps keep the culture alive. It's also fun to stretch myself and as I teach others I become more confident using it

Michelle

My amazing grandchildren are going to be bi lingual, and I want to be able to encourage them and learn beside them. This is the best country with the best of everything. Time to shout it from the rooftops, in te reo.

Michelle

To continue to uphold te tiriti o waitangi and to learn more for the future of aoteatoa

Shell

Our centre is committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Te Waitangi, and are striving to encourage Te Reo amoung our tamariki and educators. We also adhere to Tikanga in the set up of our learning activities. There is always more learning to do, and so it is important for us to take part, and encourage more Te Reo in our educators and tamariki

michelle

To keep our reo alive and honour our tipuna who paved the way for our tikanga and reo to survive and maintain my tino rangatiratanga. Celebrate te ao Maori and culture and inspire others to acknowledge and value our reo our culture too.

Mere

It's a recognised language that needs to be heard more.

Emere

Our tamariki feel a stronger sense of mana Atua and connection when speaking te reo Māori. For our whānau to build confidence and find joy and meaning in speaking te reo. The blog post slug for this story is: memory_-_ohingaiti

Memory

Te reo is one of the things that makes NZ special

Melanie

To keep the language alive

Mel

It is important that everyone in Aotearoa has at least a basic understanding of te reo and the more people who can korero Maori, the more support there will be to help others speak and understand more of the language.

Mel

As a pakēha on this land, I want to dig deep into stepping back but also absorb what is so willingly shared by the indigenous of Aotearoa. In learning Reo Māori it will allow me to connect, gain more understanding and have wisdom around how to walk forward in a holding role. By everyone embracing Reo Māori we collectively take a step towards healing.

Mel

We should all be using te reo Māori in our everyday life. Let’s stand together to show we can do this!

Meg

To normalise Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga at our kura. To honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi - Article 2 - our language, our taonga To celebrate and embrace our beautiful language.

May

I am limited in Te Reo Maori. I am and will always be very passionate about our language. Nga mihi

Mautiki

Solidarity

Matthew

I would love to be confident speaking Te Reo at school.

Marlie

I'm proud to be Maori

Marissa

I'm lost and I would like to take the time to learn about Te Ao Maori.

Maringi

Because we are kaiako and it's important to us that tamariki and whānau value and learn te reo Māori.

Marilyn

I grew up when maori was new in schools, I know colours and counting but that's about it. I want to be able to keep up with my daughter

Marie

Piki ake i tōku eo Māori.

Marie

I need to learn and to practice the regular use of te Reo, as, although I am not of Tangata te Whenua descent, I am a child of this land, Aotearoa. Thus, I feel it is incumbent on me to learn and speak te Reo. Kia ora!

Marc

Te reo is the language of the people of Aotearoa and in order to be truly bicultural and honour all the people of this country we need to make this part of the everyday.

Mara

The more I practise the more I will comfortable using Te reo Maori in everyday communications all the time, not just this week.

Mandy

I was not brought up with the gift of te reo maori. I see it as a taonga that is slowly becoming more and more recognised as that. the value of it is going one way and that is up. by taking part, I hope others will see te reo maori as an invaluable resource that can help in any and all aspects of life

Manaia

Te Reo Māori is a taonga. It is our responsibility to share and engage in our language not only during this special week but everyday! I'm still on my journey to reclaim my reo, but I'm grateful I have the opportunity to do so.

Maia

Maori language and culture has been sidelined for too long (that’s putting it mildly). I’m committed to being an anti-racist. For me part of that journey involves learning all I can about te Te reo Maori.

Madeleine

It is very important that I understand the spoken word and that I pronounce words correctly

Lynda

Te reo Māori is not only an official language of Aotearoa but its indigenous language. Although my understanding is very small, I recognise that to learn and to speak te reo Māori is to begin to understand te ao Māori. I believe it serves also to act as counter to the cultural dominance of the coloniser.

Luqman
Luke

Because our language is beautiful and sacred. The best way to preserve it is to speak it, read it, write it and allow it to evolve moving forward through time.

Lucian

Te reomaori is our language. It signals our whakapapa, where we are from and where we belong. The language is a treasurer and we must take care to pass it on and use it

Louvain

I grew up in Wales when the movement to grow the Welsh language was in full swing. I saw the importance of it there & I see it here too.

Lou

Keeps the Māori culture, language and traditions alive and brings global exposure, deepens appreciation for the Māori way of life.

Lorraine

So our language isn't lost

Lorna

For me as a Pākehā, learning te reo Māori (even just some), but most importantly pronunciation (especially of names and place names); is a step toward healing and unity.

Lorella

te reo is becoming more common in media, workplaces, schools. Keep learning or you die - so keep learning

Liz

I think all New Zealanders should value our first language so that it is protected and not lost.

Linley

E ora ai tō tātou reo, me kōrero.

Leilani

To realise the dreams of my ancestors

Laura

I come from a family where on one side the hurt and damage of colonisation separated us from the reo/culture and on the other side it was beaten out of us. I grew up with this imposed knowledge that being Māori was to be less than. In my twenties I became a Christian and had this realisation that to be Māori, to kōrero Māori and everything else is a tāonga and extreme privilege I wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world. Such a treasure! I set a goal to be fluent by 30 (not quite there) and since the birth of my son, my passion for reo has increased. Movements like this inspire hope because it fans into flame the little spark us Māori (and also, is kiwis) are born with. Kia kaha te reo Māori Aotearoa!

Latitia

I feel Te Reo Maori should be compulsory at schools just like English is. I want my kids to fluently speak our beautiful language

Latisha

I love learning languages, but this way it is the language of the country I love and I can use it every day.

Latifah

After eight years of living in Aotearoa and picking up many words in te reo, I‘d love to be able to start putting those words into sentences and, perhaps one day, even have a conversation in te reo.

Laskarina

I really enjoy the Maori language and don’t wNt to see it diminish like other things In our culture

Larissa

Because it's ours! And our language is the window to our culture.

Lara

To keep the reo strong.

Lance

To honour my tipina

Kyra

Because the Maori language is awesome and it needs to be a priority. It's part of our culture. It's unique and beautiful.

Kym

te reo is our taonga, our treasure

Kristina

If we as a country don't do something we will lose a beautiful taonga, te reo Maori.

Keryn

Kia arohaina aku tamariki i tō tātou reo.

Keriata

I feel the Māori language is important for our people, our land(economy) and our history. The language sets us apart from other cultures and countries and also reminds us of important parts of history when we did not act in the best interest of our people and hopefully encourages people not to repeat those same mistakes.

Kelly

to have a connection to my whakapapa

Keiana

It is important because Te Reo Maori needs to be normalised and our tamariki need to hear our language being spoken so they can grow to be confident learners of our language to.

Kaya

It’s a weakness of mine and I want to better myself and others.

Katrina

As a nurse its important to me to honour te reo maori as our language, to continue to forge relationships with my maori patients , to speak te reo maori and amplify the voices of wahine toa.

Kate

Embarrassed when my moko speak Te reo and i don't understand or converse back to them

kathy

Because we are a whanau of 5 million!

Kath

I'm taking part because I think we should all learn Te Reo Māori and build a bilingual Aoteaora. Why should all our transactions be conducted in the language of the coloniser?

Kate

Ki ahau nei me ako tātou katoa i te reo Māori, kia ora tonu ai tēnei taonga nui whakahirahira o Aotearoa

Kasia

No matter when your journey starts with te reo and where in the world you are, we will be one in a million or more

Karen Moetu