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'

Keeping te reo as a living language

Ruth

It's my/ our identity its who we are. Proud to be maori. I use to hear our old people speaking te reo at hui. Karakia /Waiata the list goes on. They did all those things with love and compassion from sunrise to sunset. My memories. ❤❤

Josaphine

We are committed to acknowledging the history and whakapapa of our district and as part of Rotorua's Reo Rua initiative to promote, encourage and inspire the use of te reo at every opportunity.

Rotorua

Ki a au nei, he taonga te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, nā ngā mātua tūpuna i tuku mai, hei arahi i a tātou i tēnei ao hurihuri. Māku tēnei reo e ako ki aku tamariki, ki aku mokopuna, ki aku hoa, ki ngā tauira o te kura, ki te ao whānui hoki, kei pātai mai aku mokopuna ki a au "I ahatia e koe taku taonga, ko taku reo Māori, Koko?"

Ross

My why is, To share and experience the Language of our Nation. To encourage everyone to start somewhere with Te Reo. Even it is a small part it is still a part.

Roslyn

Te reo māori is the original language in Aotearoa and it shouldn't be forgotten. I respect the language and want to support the beauty of it and the culture it comes from.

Rosie

I want to feel one with the country and be united in our learning of it's original language :-)

Roshni

It's important because i understand words but need to learn more so i can use sentence structure properly. I also need to learn more te reo to show respect and understanding for the language and culture of tangata whenua. I want to be able to converse with my little mokopuna from from another Nana x

Rosemary

To catch up on so many years of loss.

Rosemary

Maori is the language first spoken here so we should be doing more to respect that fact.

Rosie

My moko is Maori. I think that Te Reo Maori should be normalised in Aotearoa through hearing and seeing it in everyday life.

Rose-Marie

Na te mea he kiwi ahau. Kei roto katoa tatou i tenei waka, i te haerere mai i etahi atu waahi o te ao ki te noho ki konei i Aotearoa. Because I'm a kiwi. We are all in this waka together, all having journeyed from somewhere else in the world to live here in Aotearoa - New Zealand. https://www. sunlive. co. nz/news/250783-telling-stories-of-how-we-arrived-tauranga. html

Rosalie

I am an educator, mother and wife and I want to cherish the language and values of this kaupapa and our national language. I love to embed this way of living into my own and I want to learn more!

Rosalie

Because we are all richer when we are all rich. The richness of te reo māori is not just for māori but for all.

Rory

Kia ora marika tō tātou nei reo ka mutu ka tukuna mā tō tātou Reo te Reo matua ka rongo nei tātou i ngā tōpito katoa o te motu! !

Rōpata

Te reo Maori is not just an official language of NZ - it is part of who we are. . . and it is beautiful!

Jane

We want to celebrate Maori language Week. We think it is important to keep the language alive.

Room 8

Recognition of our family, whānau, and community.

Room 22

I'm an early childhood teacher in Aotearoa, I think it is important to pass the knowledge, the cultural abundance for our future generation.

Rongyue

Awareness of our Language is very important to me. I learn along side my students in my class and they love it!

Ronda

The first time I took a course in te reo, I said that as an immigrant from Scotland, I didn't come here expecting it to be like UK. Language is a huge part of any culture. I love that te reo Māori is unique to New Zealand and by learning some of the language, it helps me feel like New Zealand is now my home.

Rona

I want to be able to converse in our national language to think differently on everyday things.

Sharon

It is important that we embrace Te Reo Māori as an official language of Aotearoa so we do not lose this unique language and culture.

Romy

To honour our tupuna who fought the fight to revive our language before it died out. Do our part no matter how small to help normalise Te Reo in our workplace.

Rohario
Rohan

Nā te mea ko te reo kotahitanga mō ngā iwi o te motu.

Roger

To understand more about Maori culture and language.

Roger

Its important for new zealand to learn and acknowledge our history. Its important for our younger generation to learn and continue te reo that unfortunately our older generation has lost.

Rochelle

I am a New Zealander, born here and even though I am not Maori, Maori is the heritage of this country and we all should be embracing the culture fully with all our hearts.

Rochelle

He kaiako reo Maori ahau, he Maori taku tama, me aku mokopuna - ko te reo Maori te reo o Aotearoa

Robyn

It's about time I learned to speak our second national language

Robyn

I would like to feel comfortable integrating Māori into more of my daily conversation and to understand more so that others can do the same and keep the flow of conversation.

Robyn

As first generation pakeha I respect the place of tangata whenua as first peoples and want to support their struggle for an equitable place in Aotearoa

robert

I have returned to Aotearoa after 25 years overseas, and I largely missed the te reo revival of the last 2 decades. My mum was full Māori and I want to bond more strongly with te ao Maori. Nga mihi nui.

Robert

It's part of who I am.

Riwia

To contribute towards the strengthening of our culture for our tamariki and all our mokopuna, rebuilding our values and beliefs

Riria

I do think it is very important for ourselves and for future generations to learn Te Reo Maori, we are the ones who will carry our language forward. Te Reo Maori language is unique, it is the only one of it's kind in the whole wide world so we need to treasure our taonga, and the best way is to learn Te Reo Maori, teach our whanau and speak Te Reo Maori everyday. This way our language will be alive for many generations to come. Nga Mihi Ripai Tamihana.

Ripai

I am interested in Māori Tikanga and encouraging others to be interested, too.

Rieko

Looking for more resource`s to help me on my journey, to normalise our reo not just for this week but for everyday .

Ricky

Our school is committed to speaking and learning in Te Reo for at least 3 hours a week. This is a journey we started this year. We want to normalise Te Reo in our Kura for everyone, not just our bilingual class (which we also started this year).

Richelle

I am pakeha but my family is Maori, love the culture and would love to be proficient in te reo one day.

Richelle

I work with many Maori brothers so I think it's my duty to communicate in their mother tongue. Afteral they speak far better English than I do Maori.

Richard

As being of Maori decent, I feel like it’s my duty as New Zealand Maori. To learn my native language, to embrace all aspects of my culture.

Richard

Am a late comer but need to make more of an effort

Richard

I believe te Reo Maori is a foundation of identity and a source of rich wisdom for me as Pakeha alongside Maori people.

Richard

Because I wish to learn and keep learning Te Reo, because I’m proud to be Maori.

Richard

We acknowledge the importance of the Maori language in Aotearoa. Although I am working in a special needs school, we still want to be part of the one million people and do simple songs and actions with the students. Staff is using simple words in Maori during the day with the students and we also start the day with a prayer in Maori. For me, it is about learning the language and be able to have a simple conversation in Maori. I am also doing an online course in Maori "Poutawa te reo Maori" to upskill myself.

Ria

Because I hear my cousins and nieces speaking reo and tho I'm not fluent it really tops my cup up. I would like to be able to top theirs up too.

Andria

its part of me. It helps define me. It helps to understand me.

Rey

Ma wai ra e taurima nga marae o te iwi. Ko au ko Te Reureu e nganga tonu nei. Ko te haa tenei o nga atua. Ki te korero Maori au ka ora tonu oku kaumatua, ki te korero Maori au ka ora hoki oku tupuna.

Reweti

To honour my tupuna and to teach my tamariki that I care about keeping tikanga Māori and Te reo alive that I care about our roots and connection to this whenua that it’s important and should never have even had the potential to be lost. We only know basic stuff but I try to use it every day in some way even if it’s just one word

Rewa

Am a teacher so will share this with my class.

Renee

I whakapapa Maori and I want to connect to a language that has been lost in my whanau. Te reo is a part of who I am and I want to be able to honour it as it deserves.

Renee

Because Maaori is an official language of NZ, and Maaori are a integral part of the history on Aotearoa.

Reginald

because we live in a bilingual nation, so it is important that my pakeha family and I know at least the basics of te reo, including how to pronounce our place names correctly.

Rebekah

TeReo is one of our national languages and it is important for me to have this in our home especially for our son as he grows up.

Rebekah

I am proud of my heritage

Rebecca

Beautiful native language needs to be respected and used and taught properly as much as possible. I aspire to only korero maori to my mokopuna one day when I have them. My children and I korero maori asmuch as I know and we learn more all the time.

Rebecca

I'm a teacher, and I see how much it means to my Māori students when te reo Māori is brought into the classroom, even if I don't always get it right (they'll correct me! ). I want to become more fluent and more competent, and normalise the use of te reo Māori for other students. I love being a part of our staff kapa haka group, and I want to be able to understand more about the meaning of the waiata we perform. I've also been hugely inspired by my mum, who at 67 signed up for an introductory course for te reo Māori this year. It hasn't always been easy for her, but she has persevered and showed such an eagerness to learn. If she can do it, why can't we all give it a go?

Rebecca

Growing up I was always made to feel like being Māori was unimportant and not something I to be proud of. I disconnected because being "half caste" it was easier. It's taken a long time to get up the courage to reconnect and I'm doing this because I don't want any young Māori people to ever feel like they shouldn't be proud of who they are and where they come from

Rebecca

I have Maori ancestry and would like to be able to understand more

Becks

Te Reo is a part of who we are as a nation. We should embrace it and encourage it.

Rebecca

For my children.

For my children's education. For my community. For my own growth.

Rebecca

Because I am Pākehā and a proud Te Tiriti partner

Rebbecca

Te reo connects us to the essence of who we truly are as Māori ❤️ it is the myraid of connection that binds us all together 🌱 It supports rangatahi to connect in to their whakapapa, to give them a true sense if belonging.

Reanne

Celebration of Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori is a highlight of the year for me. It reminds me of my childhood growing up in the 60’s around fluent Reo speaking grandparents.

Raylene

Im doing this for our people And our whanau and our tamariki The blog post slug for this story is: rayden_-_auckland

rayden

Because I am Maori and I need to start somewhere with showing my tamariki how proud we are as maori

Ray

Tautoko te kaupapa

Rawinia

The importance of inclusiveness and identity

Rangi

Wanting to revitalise Te reo within my whānau so it can be gifted to future generations

Atarangi

This is US. Language is life. Te Reo is the lifeblood of the culture. I am Pakeha and so it's MORE important for me to learn and help others learn.

Raewyn

I believe we should be speaking Te Reo in our korero every day, This is a fantastic opportunity to come together as one.

Rachelle

I enjoy listening to Te Reo. I feel it gives me grounding as a New Zealander. I am open to learning any new Te Reo and I endeavour to pronounce Te Reo correctly.

Rachelle

I am a kaiako and a new māma. I have been on my Te reo māori journey since 2016 falling in love with the language and the culture. I have done some study through TWoA and plan to do more. It was two kaiako from my previous school that kicked this off for me both amazing wahine. Our son is Māori and I think it’s important for him to know his history, culture and language. Be proud of who he is and his name. It’s for my son and it’s for our tamariki of New Zealand.

Rachel

To keep our reo alive!

Rach

Te Reo Māori has been an important part of my upbringing and growth as a person. Using the language (even in small parts) helps raise awareness and promotes the use of it.

Hera

I want to learn Maori but never found the drive to actually kickstart it. This is my chance to begin a journey.

Qurat

to understand the culture you must understand the language!

Quinn

Being Māori

Queenie

To give effect to Te tiriti - Te reo Māori is our first language.

Prisca

We acknowledge and value the importance of te reo Maori not only in New Zealand but as an early childhood centre and endeavour to uphold this and practice the bi-cultural early childhood curriculum of Aotearoa, Te Whariki.

Preenika

My husband and I made a conscious decision to send our tamariki to kohanga, rumaki and wharekura because we ourselves didn’t have the confidence enough to speak We use te reo reluctantly at home in conversation, but sing waiata and have daily reading from kura to help us all.

Poi

It’s important for me to grow in Te Reo Māori so me kids can have the opportunity to converse and connect with their whanau who speak fluently.

Piripi

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Pippa

Because it is our indigenous language. It is a long time coming.

Phoebe

I believe it’s important to share, celebrate, recognise and respect our beautiful national language and culture

Phillipa

We know how important it is for us to kaiako to use and speak as much Te Reo Maori on a daily basis, so all the tamariki learn and know New Zealands native language.

Pip

If we don't use it, we will loose a massive, important part of our culture

Phil

Toku Reo.

Pewana

Because its my heritage and I'm proud of my ancestors

Petra

When Europeans arrived they sought to systematically destroy The Reo Māori and drove it into disuse through both the official and unofficial laws. Because Pakeha were responsible for the language decline, it's our responsibility to now systematically build it back up. Plus, learning Te Reo to me is a way of showing Māori that I respect and honour them and their culture.

Petra

Te reo maori is the essence of keeping Aotearoa unique in this world while at the same time binding us all together as one.

Peter

It feels important to learn this language and try to make it part of my everyday life year round!

peter

He kaupapa matua te tu pakari mo to tatou reo, me te tu maaro hoki mo to tatou Maoritanga, kei tahaetia e nga koretake me nga kuware. Tieekina te mana Maori motuhake! ✋ Kororia ki To Ingoa tapu Amine😁

Peter

As I grew up, I had very few opportunities to learn Te Rep - I’m 71 now, perhaps this is my last chance? I have passed up what opportunities I had, to my regret.

Peter

As many of us live away from our marae, maybe our skin gets fairer across the generations, we need ways to bind together to define ourselves. Te reo is the strongest tool for us to reinforce to each other who we are. Kia mau ki tou reo!

Peter

I love learning Te Reo, a beautiful language.

Have not taken, part in a Maori language throughout my life and now would love to . Kapai

Pauline