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'

We live in NZ, and am proud to do so. Maori language and culture is part of us, I want my children to grow up understanding it and it just being a normal part of their lives.

Koren

Whakapapa 😍

Tiere

i am a part of the land and culture. It is my duty and pleasure.

kiya

I want to support the flourishing of Te Reo Maori in Aotearoa so that it is seen by everybody as a normal part of all of our lives no matter what culture we come from. I would like to see Te reo Maori taught all the way through school to year 13 so that it is more widely spoken and treasured as part of our national identity.

Kirsty

Because I am a teacher and I really want to encourage my students and learn alongside them to celebrate and learn more about Te Reo

Kirsty

My ancestors were some of the first settlers in nz. We’ve lived in this country for decades, generations! Some of us are amazing with their te reo, but some of us older ones aren’t as good. I want to change that!

Kirstie

I do want to learning te reo maori to support increased usage, to understand what they are saying when people do their mihi or speeches in te reo.

Kirsten

Māori is the first language of Aotearoa and therefore we all are responsible for contributing to its growth in use.

Kirsten

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Kiri

My culture is my identity. My identity is defined by my whakapapa. Who I am, is my family.

Kiri

It’s about being committed to change - I’m not a tree so I can move, I just have to do it and Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori is a great time to accept the challenge to improve

Kimiora

Living away from home for such a long time (25yrs) I am finding as the years go by, the yearning to return gets stronger. Having this connection along with the many other resources and learning portals available now is incredible and so so important to give my mokopuna here as much of who they are as possible, to the best of my abilities I want to instil in them who we are as a people, how proud we stand as a Maori and that Aotearoa will always be our Turangawaewae. The importance of our language, as basic or as proficient as we can be, be proud

Kimiora

To learn the language, normalize it and to pass it on to my children and the community.

Kimberly

To get te reo going stronger for future generations

Kimberley

To bring awareness to the language

Kimberley

Because te reo maori is part of new zealands history and should be valued.

Kimberley

Keeping our language alive and active and one aspect to keeping our culture alive and active. The it is used regularly and easier it is to become a norm of NZ society.

Kim

Because personally I don't know enough but more importantly there is strength in numbers and I want to support this cause and knowledge building.

Kim

Because te reo Māori is part of being a New Zealander.

Kim

Because I believe it is important that we acknowledge the importance of growing te reo Māori kupu for all New Zealand people and celebrate the beautiful language it is

Kim

To show respect to the tangata whenua of Aotearoa. . The only way for te reo Maori to become mainstream is if we all start speaking it.

Kim

Language is a huge part of a culture. Te reo Maori is beautiful and it is rich with layers and layers of meaning. It is important to me that the language becomes normalised for all of us in Aotearoa as a sign of respect to Maori, past and present. While it can’t fix the injustices that have happened to, by ensuring the language is known (and therefore the customs etc within), I would hope that greater understanding can occur and that this will help prevent any ongoing injustice.

Kim

I am grateful to call Aotearoa my home and want to make sure I honour tangata whenua. By using more Maori words in our everyday language it will reignite the language and normalise it for everyone :)

Kim

Ko to tatou reo me ona tikanga te tuapapa o te oranga o te tangata, ki te whakamahi i te reo me ona tikanga koira te whakatinanatanga o te mana motuhake o tatou whanautanga, haputanga, iwitanga, Maoritanga, oranga tonutanga.

kihi

Te Reo Maori is apart of me and apart of who I want to be. doing my part ensures my sons future is full of opportunities without discrimination

kieran

Because I am Māori

Kiana

Because we have a commitment as a partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Keryn

Because I believe Te reo Maori should be taught in all school. It is our indigenous language and it is so important our tamarind grow up knowing the history and language if Aotearoa

Kerryn

I am a teacher and have my own children. To grow up in NZ is so unique and we need to share our stories and history with them so they have an understanding of where we are now.

kerri

As I would love Te Reo to be spoken more as its an important part of who we are as NZers and needs to widely used and accepted. It would help me to learn as I would have more opportunity to use.

Kerri

Kia noho ngātahi tātou me ngā tāngata kōrero Māori o Te motu.

Kere

It defines what it means to be a kiwi, plus its a beautiful language

kelvin

I grew up in Ngaruawahia where using te reo was common. Knowing the basics really helped when I started to learn other languages; Japanese and Spanish. As an exchange student in Paraguay I saw how proud they were of their indigenous language (guarani) and how easily they integrated it into daily conversation. I hope one day NZ will be like that.

Kelly

To learn about the culture and history of my home.

Kelly

I want to make a contribution

Kelly

it's important to me so that our language and culture can survive and to give me a purpose

Kelly

I whakapapa to Ngai Tāhu and want to learn more of my history. I believe that all NZer's should have the ability to learn the language of their country and this language is as unique to us. I wish more spoke it everyday so I could keep my learning up. If we lived in a country where reo was the first language and english the second wouldn't that be wananei!

Kelly

To Normalise and Revitalise Te Reo for my students and whanau.

Kelly

To Normalise and Revitalise Te Reo for myself as Maori and for my children.

Kelly

Maori language is part of who I am and I need to learn it. It's a responsibility I feel I have to learn for my child also. Also hope to find my grounding and who I am through the language.

Kelly

It’s our culture we belong here we need to take back what’s ours

Keisha

Its important as a school to take part in this movement. It links us all together

Keira

It is important as a country to do important movements together.

Keira

Te reo Maaori is important to me to engage and teach with my whanau

Keileen

because te reo maori is important to me and my family as it is my culture and native tongue

Keelyn

I am a teacher and I have the opportunity to influence the minds of our tamariki. It is important to share this message of 'Kia Kaha Te Reo'. This would be an awesome way to connect with others who are sending the same message.

Keely

Languages are who we are. Te Reo Maori is special. It is only spoken in New Zealand. It is our responsibility, all New Zealanders', to revitalise Te Reo. If we don't, who else would do?

Kazue

It helps to keep Te reo alive in New Zealand, to pass down to our children.

Kayleen

So that I am able to teach and pass down te reo to my son.

Kayla

Nā te mea e taea au te kōrero māori no reira me tautoko au I tēnei o ngā kaupapa. Me te mea hoki he tamaiti au e akona ki tētahi kura Aho Matua.

Kayla

Mo nga tupuna

Kaye

Te Reo is a taonga that belongs only to Aotearoa. We want it to thrive as a living language. To do this it must be taught in schools and used and understood everywhere in our country. The honouring of te reo is our tesponsibility u der te tiriti au AoteRoa.

Kaye

He taonga te reo Māori. As the indigenous language of Aotearoa, te reo Māori is very special. As a Pākehā, I am committed to learning, speaking and sharing as much Māori language as I can. I acknowledge the mamae my tūpuna caused and how their colonisation of our country took te reo Māori from those who whakapapa to it. I believe that I can be a respectful Tiriti partner and become a better ancestor to the next generation, by doing all that I can to learn, normalise, celebrate and kōrero Māori i ngā wā katoa, i ngā wāhi katoa hoki. I have spent decades learning and unlearning but I still have a long way to go to get to fluency. Participating in Mahuru Māori is one way I can share my love of te reo Māori with my tamariki and my community.

Kay

I'm Maori. It should be part of us & NZ. I never learnt it at school. Our generation wasn't encouraged or wasn't an option. Our Language is precious, impressive & part of us as Maori. We should be speaking it daily.

Katy Nepia

My 'why' is that Te Reo Māori is so intertwined in the culture of Aotearoa, but so many people still struggle to simply say the name of a town or place correctly! I want to celebrate Te Reo as an important part of life in Aotearoa.

Katy

Because Te Reo is one of our three official languages. We must preserve this Taonga!

Katrina

The beautiful Te Reo that I helped preserve for future generations through our touring production at Taki Rua (theatre organization) was irreplaceable. As an American who had the pleasure of hearing and speaking it, I want other countries to hear it and speak it too.

Katie

For my children, grandchildren and the future generations to come.

Kathy

We want to take our first steps to normalising the use of te reo in our community centre and cafe.

Kathy

Te Reo us a beautiful language 😍 and I would love to learn more and be able to speak and understand when spoken to

Kathryn

I am a researcher in Applied Linguistics, specialising in language learning. New Zealand is my adopted home, and I want to express my gratitude for my acceptance here, and my respect for the open sharing of their language by the Māori people.

Kathryn

I just think it's good for my children and me to learn. We arn't maori and i never really got a chance to learn to much growing up, I'd love to learn more. Its real heart warming when i hear my girl come home from kindy singing songs and talking in te reo, I love it!

Kathleen

Ko Te Reo o o tātou tupuna he taonga mö a tātou mokopuna

Kathleen

Because this is apart of where I come from. I want to move away from the tokenism that surrounds Te reo Māori

Kathleen

I value the importance of our national language and especially as an immigrant it is my responsibility to learn to use it

Katherine

This reo is unique to Aotearoa, if we lose the reo we lose more than a language, it's the essence of te Ao Maori. It's also part of who we are as a nation, Maori and Pakeha. It's a no brainer for te reo to be taught in schools, children have no barriers, pronounce and adapt so well. Adults can learn from our tamariki and keep this rich, beautiful language alive and strong.

Katherine

Speaking Te Reo helps to keep the language alive for future generations and is honouring to Maori people and our Maori communities.

Kath

Te Reo is an important part of NZ culture and it's important to embrace and include it in our everyday lives.

Kate

Te Reo is unique to NZ, and because of that, it binds us together as a country.

Kate

This is a community I have been apart of since way back and I have a passion for health and well being which I believe te reo tuku iho can add to the value of our mahi as an individual and roopu.

Kataraina

As a Kaiako I want to improve my practice to confidently speak Maori alongside our Tamariki so I am enriching our tamariki cultural heritages of Aotearoa.

Kelly

Te reo Māori is one of New Zealand's national languages and we should all be a part of keeping this alive.

Karl

I am proud of my Māori heritage. I love hearing Te Reo being spoken. My Mum used to teach Māori back in the day. Knowing your identity is so important. Knowing where you are from is important too. Whakapapa is key to living life to the full. Never meant to live life, do life alone or in isolation but together as Whānau in Whānau. I truly believe our Ataahua language will never die out, not as long as we have a fire burning inside of us! Anyhooo, if I was fluent I would have written this message in Māori, but, I am not . . . yet💕

Karina

I am a teacher, most of my students are Maori and this week is a celebration of their ancestry and who they are.

Karenne

Korero ki a wai ma

Karena

Languages are precious living treasures - and must be valued and shared to be kept alive

Karen

Want to support compulsory te reo Maori in schools

Karen

For our people, for the past, present and future.

Karen

I’m currently on a journey to learn Te Reo Maori and am trying to speak more in my home and workplace. If I speak more I hope others around me will absorb it and improve their pronunciation and feel more confident to speak it. Being one of our national languages it is important to keep it alive and flourishing!

Kara

Its important to learn and keep learning and teaching Te Reo to our tamriki so that we can all get better at speaking and learnng about it.

Kalpana

Because it is our heritage and I should start to engage in te reo

Kaingamaha

Reo is important

Kahu

I want to improve my reo and communicate better with my papa

Justyce

We all need to do our best to learn te reo Māori as one of the key languages of Aotearoa.

Julie

Because it is an important part of New Zealand culture and I want to use more te reo in my everyday

Jp

He puna wai, he puna kai, he puna reo, he puna reo, ita -a - ita

Julie

It’s important for NZ as a whole

Julie

I want to start pronouncing Maori words correctly and this is the starting time for that journey.

Julianne

Celebrating Te Reo as a foreign born Kiwi helps in recognising the importance of Maori in New Zealand. That no matter how many immigrants come here, Maori is what makes NZ unique. It's about paying respect

Julia Louise

I was sad to have students think I was a te reo Maori expert when I know and use a few phrases with my students. . . . how can my small knowledge of te reo be seen as expert . . . . . I am trying to learn full phrases instead of vocabulary mixed with English.

Julia

I am Maori and proud of it. We are the indigenous people of Aotearoa. I would like other cultures know that we are of strong beliefs just like other cultures. We also know how to approach and/or fight for our rights. We are far better off than most countries around the world. I would also like to see a Labour-Maori government. xxx

Julia

To learn more Te Reo and increase my confidence in using it. To support my amazing colleague Marino Tiuka who leads Te Reo and Te Ao maori at our College

Judy

I am an immigrant and want to learn more about the culture & language that make up my adopted homeland. I love learning what the Maori place names mean and being able to understand so much more.

Judi

The concept for this year's wiki o te reo, inspires me a lot. He whakaaro papai ake.

Juanita

Restoration.

Juanita

It is the responsibility of all people of and from Aotearoa New Zealand to commit to the normalisation and use of te reo Māori.

Jp

Because I value the language and its culture. It's an important part of our history and I feel all children in New Zealand should be surrounded by the language and culture. I'm an Early Childhood Teacher so I believe it should start with us.

Josie

Becuase my school is doing ut and I wouod like to contribute to the schools moments!

Josie

I am Māori. I am only learning to speak through the Wānanga now at the age of 34. I want my daughter to be fluent when she is my age (or earlier). Knowing the language of our tīpuna is key for tangata whenua in Aotearoa to move forward in a progressive direction. It is also important for all Pākehā and other New Zealanders to learn and understand the language of the country and fully accept and acknowledge the culture of the Māori. Te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori are vital to the achievement of Māori self-determination and tino rangatiratanga. Kia ū, kia mau ki to Maoritanga.

Joshua

If I can devote time to learning (admittedly bad) Spanish for two months in Mexico, I'm ashamed if I can't put effort into learning the language of my whenua for the past 30 years

Josh