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 is important for Te Maunga to be part of the Māori Language Moment as we are actively working to incorporate more Te Reo into our day to day lives and school work. We recognise and are doing more work around learning about our cultural location and Te Reo as one of our national languages.

Allie

ko te mana o tō tatou Reo

Alley

It is important to me as I work in an environment that if I spoke even a few words in Maori it will help me be more understanding and the people I work with would appreciate the effort I am putting in to understand them more.

Alistair

Great chance to join others on the journey

Alison

It's a part of who I am

Alisa

To be part of NZ history, to embrace Te Reo Maori,

Alicia

We wanted to show that we are proud to be part of Maori Language Week. We like being active in our community and support all people being included and valued.

Alzheimers

Because I’m Māori

Alicia

Te reo Māori is an important part of Aotearoa. It's important for us all to learn, embrace and drive it forward, no matter who we are. Celebrating te reo Māori will normalise it more and will encourage more people to take it up.

Alexis

I have just move to New Zealand and want to learn te reo Maori and learn more about Maori culture

Alexis

To learn and engage with the language of Aotearoa

Alexandra

Most importantly, I feel as Pakeha I have a responsibility to participate in keeping Te Reo alive and to acknowledge the rightful holders of this land and the history and impact that colonisation still has on this country, and Maori. Secondly, Te Reo Maori is a beautiful language, and through my learning of it, I have been invited into a brand new world! I love seeing the world through the eyes of Te Ao Maori. And my motivations haven't just been through social responsibility, but familial. My wife is re-connecting with her whakapapa, after her family was discouraged from speaking Te Reo, or affiliating themselves with their culture in any way. Her generation is the first to reclaim their identity and I am on that journey with her! And now, our son, who is both Nga Puhi through my wife, and Ngai Tahu through our donor, so our journey is so enriched right now! It's really exciting.

Alexandra

nōtemea: e tika ana kia whakapiki i te reo rangatira o Aotearoa

Alexander

Because i grew up in a country that didn't value it's indigenous heritage and maintained a system of opression towards those who tried to bring it to light. Now as an adult I have the opportunity to use my voice to fight back and work towards Aotearoa recognizing it's mistakes and working collaboratively to decolonize.

Alex

I am a pakeha woman but would love to feel more confident speaking Te Reo

Alex

I am an expat and English is my second language, I do think it is very important to keep the Te reo Maori language alive and I think is should be learnt from everyone living in Nz.

alex

To understand a culture it is important to understand its language

Alessandra

Just starting my journey to learning Te Reo and making connections to whakapapa.

Alene

As New Zealander's, we all need to do our bit to keep the language that is unique to New Zealand, alive, to help change the mindset of people from 'having to do it' to 'wanting to do it' and recognising the value Te Reo brings on all levels.

Aleisha

because we are all individuals but in order for this to be we need Kotahaitanga- unity in our whanau / hapu and Iwi. to know where your from and who you connect with.

Alby

I think Te Reo should be part of our everyday language.

Alanna

So I can learn more about maori culture

Alana

To promote maori Language in NZ and make Aotearoa unique

Alan

It means a lot to me to become part of the Māori whanau and speaking the language is the huge part of integrating and sense of belonging.

Alamelu

my why is to get rooted in my Mauri

Aidan

Te Reo is NZ's indigenous language, but poorly utilised and upheld in conversation. Its time to rejuvenate the language so more people are speaking.

Agnes

Whakawhanungatanga - coming together; making connections.

Adrienne

Te reo Maori is one of our three official languages, and the most beautiful. We should all have some awareness, and ideally a little knowledge, of it, as part of the privilege of living in New Zealand and sharing our land.

Adrienne

Te reo is the language of our country.

Anthony

To support the use of te Reo Maori in New Zealand, the home of the Language

Adrianne

Because I want my children to learn more about their culture and be able to embrace it confidently with pride. Its apart of our history and our country. I'd love nothing more to have both myself and my children know the language of our ancestors

Adrianna

with my daughter attending kohanga reo its time for me to walk the talk, if its important for her to know the reo, its important for me

Adrian

We are keen to expand our use of Te Reo here at the gardens.

Adrian

Learning another language helps to think in a different way and understand and respect another culture

Adele

kia ora its important to take part in maori since its a fun language

Adam

Identity and better understanding.

Adam

Te Ao Māori enriches people in many ways. The more people that speak the reo, the more people will be enriched by experiencing it. It can help the world.

Ace

Although I am not Maori by blood, it is my culture. I love the culture and believe we should all embrace it as part of every person that lives in New Zealand.

Abbe

Its a part of New Zealand and my culture and I believe it needs to be embraced and celebrated.

Aaron

Susie

Ko te reo he wharetapa wha -tinana ko te whakamahinga reo, te mea nui. to see it to hear it to feel it, is something that I strive for in my own home. artworks in te reo gives visual cues that stimulate and cause a physical reaction is the focus of my whanau, How fit is tereo -whanau te reo used as a means of connection in the whanau was something we were needing but were already doing in english, so tohutohu a reo became a much softer approach, as a whanau, and also saw the connections between our whanaunga reo in the Cooks, Tonga, and closer, Tanui, Maniapoto, Northland reo when approached as Mita. -wairua spirutality of the reo, as in reo i tuku iho , ki tua o te arai, te reo a Hahi, Karakia, and oriori, te kiia, te wai, finding what this means is almost a PHD the kaupapa is so broad, -hinengaro cognetive connections when dealing with our whanau reo te reo pakeha, sharpens the reo, kia whakahoahoa te reo hei whakarauora. ka whakaora te reo kia tae atu ki te whakaaro kotahi, hei hopu te ahua o ia reo. -

Terangi

As a Pakeha wahine and a manuhiri in Aotearoa it is my responsibility to learn and use Te Reo Māori. Both as part of my commitment to Te Tiriti but also as a person who has the privilege of living in Aotearoa.

Zoe

Kahmil

It is important for me to be part of the one in a million to show my commitment to learning Te Reo Maori.

Zenah

Its important to me because i want to be able to learn my reo and the ways of my culture.

Zaylor

I want to be confident to be fluent in the beautiful language of Aotearoa, Te Reo Māori, as it is my culture.

Sheryl

It is important to me that my baby girl, who is tangatawhenua, grows up understanding her culture and her place in the world. For pakeha like myself, learning te reo is an important step towards healing the wounds of our colonial past.

Zane

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

Zaid

To practice the language within our family

Zachary

its something that my friends heavily interested in and I wanna do what I can to support the fam

Zac

We already have waiata every day & karakia. I am happy to be a part of what our organisation brings forward for us to embrace with Te Reo. We have a representative as well, a pou but we are all pou. Thank you for this initiative.

Yvonne

It is who I am and I do not know how to speak Māori

Yvonne

We have Māori mokopuna who are attending a kura kaupapa and are fluent in te reo, as is our daughter, their mother. We have learned a bit of te reo and tikanga and really enjoy having many opportunities to practice with whānau. Te Reo is a toanga that everyone in Aotearoa can embrace.

Yvette & Steve

Because it is part of our country, culture and our language.

Yannick

Being a part of our national identity, enjoying the language

Yalini

Because this is my language, my culture. I’m a pakeha with a Maori daughter & I feel that it’s just as much mine as it is her’s. I feel connected to this country deep in my soul & I feel my soul grow when I speak or sing in Maori. I feel such pride in NZ as I believe we want to learn our own language. I look at my 72 year old mum & she’s keen as to learn

Xavier

The awareness of others to understand our culture by teaching them some basic reo to begin with. Then for them to really capture the essence of our world mai ngaa karu ngoo taatou te maaori.

Wiremu

To further develope my Reo to enhance my Mahi with Te Wairua Tapu Haahi in Sydney and to become more Fluent with Our Taonga

Will

It is a part of being a Kiwi and being Maori. It is our mahi to bring non-Maori on this hikoi and it is for the greater good of the country which enhance our point of difference as Kiwi on the international stage. It is way cool to korero Maori whilst overseas and like many nationalities communicate in our national language, it is even better when someone in that vast crowd recognises it. Nga mihi

Wipari

I believe in continuing the tradition and keeping the language from falling into obscurity.

Winston

I have always wanted to learn a language and feel learning Te Reo is the perfect language to start with as its a language of Aotearoa. My kids are also part Maori so feel its my duty to help them be immersed in their own culture.

Will

Kaaore he reo i tua atu i too taatou reo. Pakangatia ra e oo taatou tuupuna moo te reo, nooreira he haepapa too taatou.

Whiringaanuku

Kia ora rā, koia nei te karere i whakarapaina e au ki ngaku põhi pukumata i roto i ngõku rõpū ā marae/ā iwi. Ka mutu koia nei tētahi o aua take, he nui tonu ngā take hoi koia nei ngaku kupu whakakipakipa i taku iwi kāinga ki te hono mai ki te kaupapa. As posted on my facebook marae and iwi pages: He tāonga te reo, ka mutu ko te reo te kaipupuru i te hā o te iwi Māori, koia hoki te mauri o te iwi Māori. Those of you who know me, might also know that I an very passionate about Te Reo. and yes some may also question hmmmm okay why do you not come home and teach te reo then? That I will answer later in the post. The reo I speak and love I accredit to my nannies. Yip my Nana Rihi & the naughty gang as they were sometimes referred to. It was nutured and developed by my many unties and nannies through Kohanga Reo and again in Kura Kaupapa at my beloved kura Te KKM o TPoW with my many unties & cousins as kaiako. It was then reaffirmed and given a stronger foundation under the wings of my beloved Aunty Ma at Tuakau College and again supported by the many nannies and koros I had the privilage to sit next to at the pā. Yip fair to say I may have gotton a bit of slack by some for being there at such a young age, but it is definately not something i regret. I knew in my heart that it wont be long, they would no longer be with us. I knew that the only way to learn from them was to always be around them, so thats where I went. And I will forever be gratefull for the time I got to spend with them all. Today my students are amazed to hear that I say my first kõhanga reo was the parties that I went to as a kid (and baby 🤭) I still have memories of being told by nanny Tangi, oooh yes when you were a baby your bed was in a crate on a pillow on the table. I remember they spoke Māori alot or most of the time at the parties. My most fondest memories of my language aquisition came from my nannies and those happy days. The humor and passion for life they (my nannies) displayed is something I draw on all the time when teaching reo because I believe its unique and true. Its definately true to me and for many others. Yes there is the misconception of " what can Te Reo Māori do for you" well Im sure its quite clear now what it can do and what it must do. and then I also say there is a saying that you dont realize the true value of something until its lost. Let not te reo be one. Some may ask, ok 1 million people speaking at 12pm for one day. What is that going to do. Heres my take on it. 1 million people making a "conscious" descision to choose to speak Māori at a certain point in time is where the lesson is. If you want to learn Te Reo Māori, it is as simple as "choosing to" thats all it takes. Its as simple as that, but one other cool thing to me about this is that, the idea of 1million people making this huge shift im consciousness to celebrate te reo is something to behold. All of what I know and love about Te Reo is from home, from the growlings for singing on the whitebait bench and scarring the fish away to when we do our selves with the water and of course memories of how our nannies went fluidly from Māori to pigeon English and then the sound of my Nana Rihi's terms of endearment aka swearing 😂. This is what Te Reo does for me, and thats why I speak it every day, so all those memories and teachings are with me. Home is where I draw my strength from, and Te Reo is how home is with me everyday. Yes one day I will be back home to teach, when I don't know yet, when the time is right. I thought id simply share this link with a short post but 10mins later it turned into this, and again that is thanks to my reo. E te iwi, rapua te mea ngāro he aha ia rā te mea ngaro, ko te reo, ko te whenua, ko te aroha ki te tangata, he aha rawa rānei E te iwi e rāpua iho rā 💙💙💙💙💙

Weropupu Rau

I moved here 17 years ago from the UK and since having children here and going through Playcentre with them and learning more about the Maori culture I have appreciated the need to keep the language alive. I am also appalled by the attempts by early colonisers to stamp out the use of te reo in schools by Maori. My children enjoy learning te reo at school and though I still feel like a beginner I am willing to keep learning and trying.

Wendy

morena I'd like to be less intimidated by te reo I find it quite hard to try it out but I would like to improve my own reo. I'd also hear it more in every day life. kia ora Wendy

wendy

I have always wanted to learn some maori language and this is the perfect way to start out.

Wendy

need to learn practice one of the three official languages of New Zealand, part of belonging

Wendy

Mōku: Ko tōku reo taku ohooho, ko tōku reo taku māpihi maurea. Ka whangai tō tātou reo Māori ki Ngā tamariki mokopuna.

Waveney

Kiaora lm 63 year's old today lve never learnt how to speak Maori lve always been at the back working on the marae kaimahi kerepoka. lm ashamed of myself that I can't stand up to korero Maori to the matua speaker on the taumata ld do anything to answer there korero back in Maori. .

Wallace

He hiranga nui tō te reo Māori hei oranga mō tātou e noho mai ana ki te whenua o Aotearoa.

Waimarie

Every little counts! And our little translates into a ripple, so it gets bigger! Little people can do big things!

Waiheke

Very important to connect with whanau and all Maori

Vivienne

Keep Te Reo Alive Kia Kaha

Viv

Because we support Te Reo in our school we have 2 Level 2 classes and 6 Level 4 classes.

Viv

I acknowledge Te Reo Māori as one of the languages of this nation and, first and foremost, as the language of the partner with the Crown in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Virginia

As a NZ European teacher, by me embracing the language and incorporating it into my everyday practice, I am hoping to empower my learners in a multiple of ways. I empower my students who can speak te reo Māori to have pride in their skills as they help me in my learning. I make the language 'normal', just like English in my room to help build familiarity. I recognise the heritage of this country that I love and the taonga that I can be part of preserving.

Virginia

Ki taku nei whakaaro, he mea nui te reo o nga tangata. Ka whakamana ia iwi, hapu, a, whanau hoki ki te panuitia ia ratou mita. He waha kotahi noa iho ahau, engari Kia ora, Kia kaha te reo Maori!

Vilma

To teach children Te Reo

Vignette

I come from a multicultural background where people liked to share their languages with one another so I am keen to learn.

Vida

It is time got me to learn this will be my life ending journey I am 60 years old and I fomt know my own te reo.

Victoria

Because I want my tamariki to understand and love our language to be proud of who we are as New Zealanders

Victoria

I'm on my journey with te reo, started along time ago, but changed along the way , knowing back and ready to complete my journey. I wish now I. had carried on, buy I'm ready to. do all this now.

Victoria

I learned for a year in 2012 and loved it then the university in Canterbury stopped evening classes and I couldn't find another I love the language it increased my confidence and sense of belonging

Victoria

Te Reo is a growing movement and I want to be a part of it as a New Zealander.

Vicki

all kiwis should embrace te reo and respect maori culture tikanga, whether pakeha, maori or from other cultures.

Vicki

Because Maori is who I am, who I identify with, who my people are

Vicki Lee

I want to start learning the language as a New Zealander we all need to embrace Te Reo one word at a time.

Vicki

For my moko to learn more of their heritage and to be apart of making that happen for them

Vicki

I learn Maori up too 100 level at University. I feel it should be compulsory in schools right from the start.

Vicki

Because we want to play our part in honouring tangata whenua, and we love the poetry of Te Reo.

Verena and Mike

a second language is another world view. its another perspective. it allows me to go deeper into who I am and who my whanau are. the broader your mind is the better you can make your part of the world.

Venus

Nā te mea ko tāku reo tuatahi tēnei.

Vaughan

Te celebrate the indigenous culture of NZ and that which my children are born into

Vanessa

I myself have a child who is of Maori descend therefore I know the importance of keeping her culture alive and celebrating it with her. I want to encourage this in my workplace to ensure I am acknowledging Maori culture as a significant part of who we are and where we are from whether we are Maori or Pakeha.

Vanessa

To keep the reo alive!

Vanessa

Retain the language

Valeti

to educate our generation but also the next, to revive our reo

Valerie

To always give back to the community and to give respect

Valerie

Ko te reo Māori te reo tuatahi o te whenua nei.

Valerie

Aotearoa is my home. and it is important to me to be part of our indigenous and unique heritage. That heritage includes Te Reo Maori and I would like to honour it's mana with my participation.

Vaimoana

This post is in moderation. Only you can see this because you are the author.

Aotearoa is my home.and it is important to me to be part of our indigenous and unique heritage. That heritage includes Te Reo Maori and I would like to honour it's mana with my participation.