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'

For my children, I want to role model the desire to live in a more inclusive NZ

Natalie

We are choosing to make te reo Maori more normalised in our school community where children are exposed to it on a daily basis!

Natalie

Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori. For my nan! Seeing her light up and the kupu return to her tongue when I started speaking the reo meant everything.

Nastassia

Who would have thought! ! ?? my great great grandparents were forced to believe the language would be a dead end street and I'm proud to stand here today and bring back something that is rightfully OURS! ! To all our passed whanau, This ones for you! ! ! !

Naomi

Keep our Te reo alive. So important to keep our culture alive we are one, beautiful and strong.

Nancy

Show the respect to Te Reo Maori

Nalin

Nā runga anō i taku raukuratanga e tika ana kia whai wā ki te kōrero, ki te tautoko i tēnei kaupapa

Nakoia

To help raise awareness for our language and culture

Myra

To keep Te Reo alive and to acknowledge our heritage, which includes this beautiful language.

Mylrea

It's important because we need to acknowledge and pay respect to Tangata Whenua. The people who paved the way for us to be in this land.

Muta

I want to be able to learn to pronounce places correctly and understand some of the meaning behind the names.

Murray

Learning te reo is important for anyone living in this land for it is the first language of te tangata whenua whose manaakitanga is the basis of all the rest of us being able to live here.

Murray

To be part of Aotearoa

Murali

Te Reo Māori is native and unique language focus on the inclusion. It is important that as a New Zealander we all learn and benefit from it. It help us to learn, communicate and integrate further in the society.

Muhammad

Mana motuhake o tatou Maaoritanga x

Mornz

Ko taaku me kōrero i te reo i ngā wā katoa hei aha te "moment" anake, kia kore rawa to tātau reo e mahue.

Montana

To be United by different civilizations

Monisha

My friends in NZ spoke to me about Te Reo Week. I like to take part in it!

Monique

Want to learn te reo and share it with family and friends

Mona

Māori is a beautiful language and is an important part of the kiwi identity and culture

Mohamed

its important to my DNA. . . . . . . its important to my whanau. . . . . . its important to my tupuna. . . . . . its important to me. . . . .

Moewaka

Because it is about keeping our language alive and connecting to our whakapapa

Moanaroa

Drive are nga tamariki, mokopuna tuatahi/tuarua.

Moana

Mō aku tamariki

Mitchell

Because we believe that language is the life essence and sustenance of a culture!

Michelle

My ancestors were leaders of the armed constabulary which invaded Parihaka in 1881. When I researched my history, I discovered they were fluent in te Reo ō Taranaki as young men, in the decades before the invasion. I want to remember.

Miriama

He Māori ahau

Miriam

Te Reo is our language, it is our heritage. True success will be a fully bilingual country; just as so many other countries across the world have their own unique language as well as English. It ties us to our roots, and shows true respect for the whakapapa of us all.

Miranda

Te Reo is what makes Aotearoa unique and it's a language we should all try to learn.

Milli

i want to leran more maori

Camilla

The blog post slug for this story is: milan_-_wellington

jo

I have my own cultural ties and language that I speak (Welsh) so view this as an extension of my own responsibility and obligations to the language and culture of my adopted country.

Mike

Embrace our culture

Mike

I want to be part of the revival of te reo Māori and see the language thrive across Aotearoa.

Mike

I'm interested in the Maori langauge and keen to feel integrated with the culture in Aotearoa

Michael

ko Te reo Maori ki ahau he taonga. It is such a privilege to now lean my native language as I didn’t have the opportunity to do so growing up. I wasn’t as privileged to grow up fully immersed in Te ao maori but by having these awesome resources to enhance my reo.

Mikayla

As one of the official languages of New Zealand I believe it is important to learn the language

Mikayla

It is important for me to take part to celebrate the culture in my classroom sharing my knowledge with other kaiako and tamariki

Mikaela

To me its to keep the culture growing. So our kids after us know.

Mihi

Ko te reo kia rere - kia rongo i te reo Māori e rere tika ana ki ngā tõpito katoa, ao mai põ mai - tuatahi ki Aotearoa, tuarua ki te ao. . .

Mihi

Because I'm proud to be from Aotearoa and it's imperative that we learn to korero mai. We need to ensure we use te reo Māori and keep this beautiful language alive for future generations. It helps people to be connected, signifies the uniqueness of what it means to be a kiwi and helps us to understand deeper cultural significance.

Michelle

Because it's a part of our unique and collective heritage

Michelle

To further celebrate and strengthen te reo in our school.

Michelle

It is important for me to take part to learn connection and to be able to understand / speak te reo Maori when needed. We did it at school, but 30 years later, it is not something we recall easily any longer :(

Michelle

I have lived in several different countries, and always tried to learn some of the local language. After 25 years in NZ it is time to embrace te reo Maori

Michelle

I am an immigrant to NZ, and it would be very helpful to take part and understand the culture of NZ

Michelle

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