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'

Kia ora, I am Maori and proud to be, my reo is not the best but my beliefs are strong I was lucky to have a cuzzie drop the necessary brochures off to our cafe so we could support te reo māori today. And if you check out our FB And instragram pages you can see what we have done. Good luck Aotearoa. Nga mihi Fleur

Fleur

I have a wee bit of Maori ancestry and would like to celebrate that. Also, Maori is one of the official languages of our beautiful country and I would like my class of Year 3s to be more aware of the importance of its use.

Fleur

Te reo Māori is a taonga and I want to participate in expanding its influence. As a Pākehā treaty partner it is part of 'the deal': growing te reo Māori is part of sharing power and showing respect for te ao and tikanga Māori.

Fiona

Te Reo Màori is one of Aotearoa's most precious taonga.

Fiona

My husband and I came here on a working holiday from Ireland 10 years ago, and have made NZ our home. Our daughter, who is almost 5, is first generation Irish-Kiwi. We believe that it is important that we embrace and learn about the real history of Aotearoa, and learn the language as it's the heartbeat of a culture. Learning more about te ao Māori and the language is inspiring us to reconnect with and explore our Irish ancestry and culture more deeply. Knowing our whakapapa is particularly important as we have changed the course of our families lines by coming here and raising our daughter here.

Fiona

I feel that it is important to celebrate and learn te reo so that I can incorporate it into my everyday life - it is our unique national language and teaches us about our history and culture and connections to this amazing country.

Fiona

It's a goal of mine this year to improve my knowledge of Te Reo and use it more widely with my class.

Finn

I would love to speak confidently in public & have it roll off my tongue without thinking. If I learn now then I can teach my children one day & it would be amazing to be a bilingual family. I wasn’t born here but I’ve lived here my whole life. I may not have a connection to the land but I think it is incredibly important, as Pākehā, to acknowledge, value & learn the beautiful language of Aotearoa ♥️

Fi

Te reo is essential to the Maori people because it is core to a culture. I am pakeha and as I am New Zealander it is also part of my culture. I look at our classrooms and the faces are Indian, Asian, African, Maori, etc. and the bond that is common to us all. When we have a powhiri at school it is so special to see an Asian child standing beside a Maori child and both speaking te ro with confidence and pride. I find it offensive to hear something as simple as place names pronounced incorrectly. If that was Italian or French we would be appalled. Imagine ordering a bottle of wine and pronouncing it incorrectly or ordering a croissant and calling it a crowsent. It is seen as cultured to pronounce French and Italian correctly but not te reo. I hear people say, " oh you know she speaks fluent French and again it is seen as special. I am proud to be able to say "oh do you know she speaks fluent Maori" Signing up will hopefully add to a huge list of people who will show New Zealanders this is important and the anti will become the minority. It will show the government we are serious.

Felicity

To present who we are and our ancestors who taught us to be respectful in any context! As travellers from our lands, we pay respect to the people of the Aotearoa-the land of the long white cloud, tangata whenua. Showing appreciation of allowance to reside on their lands contributing to the development of it holistically from grassroots to national levels in all respects.

Feiloaiga

I need some experiments about learning this knowledges. Hope this will help.

Faasulu

Ko te Reo Māori ko te Reo o te whenua

F. Jorge

Maori is important to NZ and it should be more commonly used and taught.

Evana

It is important so that our reo will continue into the future.

Eunice

Kia fora. Kua tata ngaro te reo Catalan. Me mau tonu nga reo iti hei hanga i te ao he waahi whai rawa i nga ahurea rereke. Kia kaha

Esteve

I am a planner, new to job. . IWI relationship is one of the focused aspiration. When I got introduced to Te Reo Maori, I could see a connection as I am coming from diverse cultural background and always keen to learn new language/culture. . and i thought to improve myself using and pronouncing everyday. .

Eshita

I AM MAORI. .

Errol

Tautoko for rangatahi Māori who I work with. As tauiwi myself, I hope I am setting an example for those of all cultures who I work with, and raising my children to see the beauty in Te Ao Māori.

Ernest

It is important for us and our tamariki to be part of significant events such as these, even though te reo is a major part of their everyday, as it gives them moments to remember where we are part of something greater than our classroom or our kura or our whānau. It's important for them to see others valuing our reo me ōna tikanga.

Erina

To show my support of progressing Te Reo Maori.

Erin

As both a first generation immigrant and fourth generation Pakeha, I believe that using te reo in my everyday life is a way of respecting the gifting to te reo to Aotearoa

Erin

So that l can enforce my te reo journey. And support my daughter and l towards speaking te reo maori fluently

Erica-Jayne

I am part Maori but I look European so have lived a life privileged due to my skin colour. We still lived in the ‘ghetto’ part of town and I grew up with all Maori friends. I became a teacher at our local high school and watched the children of my friends experience a biased and racist school life. I am so passionate about the Reo and Tikanga and want to do all that I can to be part of a positive change for our rangitahi. Part of that means that I need to learn more and every year I learn a little more.

Erica

It is important for young children to have access to all cultures that reside in NZ. Maori is an official language and being exposed to this in a fun way will encourage further learning. Let's keep the reo alive!

Erica

One for all, all for one

Eric

We are a bicultural country

Eric

I want to make sure I give my son the best bi-lingual start

Emma-Jayne

To revitalise Te Reo with my learners and increase my own capability.

Emma

It’s important for me to take part so I can embrace my whakapapa. Reclaim what was taken from my whanau and learn more te Reo to share the world.

Emma

This is a beautiful Reo and ALL New Zealanders need to make sure it is never lost

Emma

It’s important to me that we decolonize our language and remove the barriers to knowledge of indigenous taonga like weaving, carving and tattooing, as well as the spiritual knowledge of our people that is unfortunately disappearing with our tūpuna. All Māori have the right and deserve the space to speak our native tongue, to know what our ancestors knew and practice our art forms with dignity and respect, however long and windy the journey back to our culture may be.

Emma

I’m not of Māori descent but I still think it’s important for Te Rēo to be recognised more in NZ than it has been. To have the opportunity to learn more is always a blessing. Then hopefully I can pass what I’ve learnt onto people I know and create a chain of knowledge and understanding 👍🏼

Emma

Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori! !

Elsdon

By participating and including te reo in our daily practice will help encourage our tamariki and myself to become confident to speak te reo Māori.

Ellie

I Wana do myself proud to further my te reo. For my own whanau and mokopuna. i was always raised around it. . . all my life. . . . . but had no ears to learn it. . sometime s I hold back. . . . with no confidence. . . . an then i shy away. . . . but I do know my whakapapa . . . . an basic reo . . . but I can do better. . . for the future. . . Kia ora . . kautou Katoa Ellen

Ellen hinekahu

I moved here and married a New Zealander, now my children are from here too, I want to be a part of and to celebrate the beautiful culture of this land and I want my children to grow up knowing who they are and where they come from.

Ellen

Love this kaupapa, so keen to get on board. I'm Pākehā and think it's so important for me to learn Te Reo Māori as someone who lives in Aotearoa and as tangata tiriti. I have a hope that in my lifetime (I'm 19), the majority of people in this country will be bilingual. Language and culture are so intertwined, so I hope by learning the language I can too learn more about the Māori worldview and culture.

Ella

Te Reo identifies our uniqueness and gives us pride in who we are as Individuals and who we represent as Maori. No reira me akonga nga tikanga me too tatou reo oo nga Maatua Tuupuna.

Elizabeth

He taonga te Reo

Elizabeth

Part of my responsibility as a teacher to honour the Maori language and culture.

Elizabeth

To learn the history of our Tangata Whenua.

Elizabeth

I am a sixth generation European New Zealander so it is a part of my identity and it is so important to keep alive for all New Zealanders.

Elizabeth

Personal reasons wanting to speck the reo and learn more.

Elias

Embracing my culture

Elianna

I want to make Te Reo Māori a known language and stop rascim towards Māori people and the language

Eli

Language is so important to identity the culture that it represents. Whether your not of that culture but you embrace its Te Reo it brings pride to those listening and to the speaker. It brings it power and recognizes its importance. It shows the value that you put on its culture.

Elena

Tautoko te kaupapa

Elai
Eilish
Eileen

I am Maori. It is who I am. I have often started and not followed through.

Edwina

I love te reo Māori and I want to celebrate it.

Ed

Because this is who I am and I want to embrace my culture.

Ebony

My wife is half Māori and we have 3 tamariki and think it's important that we all learn some te reo along with other teachings while embracing their Māori heritage, culture and whakapapa.

Dylan

Ta te mea, he Maori ahau. Ko tenei taku reo, ko enei aku kupu hai piringa ki oku matua tupuna.

Dr Bryce

Kia ora te reo rangatira!

Dougal

I am aware I need to improve my pronunciation

Dorothy

To strengthen and empower our young in keeping not only our language alive but our culture and all the learnings that have been passed down through generations.

Dorothy

It is important to keep te reo maori alive and for all kiwi’s to know that even if you are not maori it is apart of kiwi culture and identity and to know the history of our country. It is especially important as I am a primary school teacher and lead to inspire the future generations!

Donnalena

I myself am Maori, I know very little te reo and want to learn and embrace our beautiful language. Ideally I would love to move home Taranaki but my current work keeps me in Wellington. I should have listened to my nan when I was younger 😔. I also feel it is important for my adult kids and mokopuna to learn our language and hope they too will take part.

Donna

I would like to be able to join with my whanau being an urban Maori I was never taught as our Dad did not think te reo could help us. He did however take us to Ngati Poneke and to some church meetings and to whanau Tangi . When my Dad passed away Mother took me to all the land meetings. Going to these meetings I thought I would like to be able to speak as I became a member of the Maori Women's Welfare League. I did go to lessons and I found night lessons did not suit me. My daughter and grandson do the zoom thing that would suit me fine. My grandson has two little boys with Maori names and with a Dutch grandfather his wife's side and grandpa Maori and Pom his dad well they also have Maori lessons at home. This is just fantastic a four year old and three old. . . . I have to get started again can't have them passing me and at great speed.

Donna

It is NZ's culture and I would like to share this with my children.

Donna

I work in a school and am aware of how important it is to respect and value other cultures. Te Reo Maori is very much part of New Zealand. Let's treasure and promote what is unique to us.

Donna

For my children, so that they can understand this beautiful language and the wisdom it holds.

Dominika

Living in a bicultural society it is good to learn more about other cultures. I enjoy translating place names to give them more meaning.

Dianne

I personally feel I want to feel more connected

Diane

Te reo maori is the language of our country. I want my children to learn and be well educated in maori culture and history.

Diane

I want to hear the reo, read it, speak it often and easily everywhere in Aotearoa.

Diana

It’s the language of indigenous New Zealanders, I believe it should be a language we all speak. I want my grandchildren to learn it in school. I want Maori NZers to have and learn it as a human right and those of us that a tangata tiriti to support that in recognition that we share this land with it’s first peoples.

D

I want to embrace our beautiful language, begin using it more often. I share this story with others, in hope to inspire others to join too.

Di

To revitalise our culture and the essence of our culture💜

Destinee

It’s important for me to start learning Te Reo Maori because now I have a 7 month daughter, I feel like it’s important to teach her as well as myself. So we learn together.

Destani

I love listening to te reo Maori and it helps in my journey to learn how to korero Maori.

Desmone

Work

Desley

It is part of who we are as a nation and we are proud of our heritage and culture

Department of Corrections

Celebrate been Māori.

Dennis

I think Te Reo is a beautiful language and would like to have it heard more and used more as part of mainstream life.

Denise

Revitalization is happening now - We are taking back our mana. Ready to show it to the world by being proud of who we are. Mauri ora.

Demme

kei te pakari au ki te reo kei te whakaako nga tamariki he whakapapa

Delmun

He reo motuhake kua tukuna mai i o mātou tupuna. Korerotia kia rongo te ao.

Delanie

Our agency is in a journey to weave te rēo and tikanga into who we are here at Wellbeing to enrich us as individuals, as an agency and most importantly for our community. This is a journey that we have needed to embark on for some time and at last we are gathering some momentum.

Deirdre

I am a New Zealander and Te Reo Maori is part of who I am!

Dee

Te reo Maori can be kept alive if we korero Maori everywhere, everyday

Dee

To get our tamariki speaking more, having a go. Speak our native language. Have the kids in my class who are Māori have a sense of pride in the importance we place on their language and culture.

Deborah

Promoting a bicultural NZ Supports acceptance and practice by all whilst still building confidence.

Debby
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I want to become more fluent in te reo and understand the tikanga better so I can feel more connected with the people of this land.

Debby

Te Reo Maori is a beautiful language, taking part is our small effort to honour te reo Māori by learning to use it, pronounce it and respect it.

Debbie

Te Reo Māori is such a rich and beautiful language! As I learn more of the reo I come to understand more of Māori culture. I want to include te reo in my life and my teaching to honour mana reo and to honour tangata whenua.

Deb

In short to Normalise Te reo Māori and to make those around me confident enough to use The reo they know and not feel whakama or be afraid to get it wrong.

Dawn

Because I'm Maori, love the language , want to hear the language every day and use it as much as I can

Dawn

To show the importance of learning Māori and maintaining the beauty of our reo and the importance of keeping it alive and valued .

Davina

I want to take part because te reo is important to me. I want to be able to speak fluently as I feel it will connect me better to my whenua/ my whanau and who I am. One day when I have kids, I want to speak te reo with them. This will be their first language. The blog post slug for this story is: davidda_-_auckland

Davidda

Striving to be better in my pronunciation and reo. As Tangata Tiriti I have an obligation to support our Bi cultural nation and take a lead alongside Pakeha rather than wait for maori to show me the partnership. They shouldn't have to support iwi and then pakeha as well. We have to take this on ourselves.

David

Growing up in an era and not being allowed to learn or speak Te Reo

David

Te Ao Maori is the only unique identifier we have from any other nation in the world. It's on all of us to acknowledge, explore, engage and promote it.

David

Important to use the language.

David

Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand and as such should be part of our every day vocabulary. This has become a passion of mine since I found out my iwi connections, now as a proud Pakeha/Maori married to a Maori/Niuean/Pakeha with a Māori daughter I am determined to know both of my cultures and be comfortable conversing in both "worlds". This is a practical way of standing up and being counted as a proud (although very much a beginner) te reo Māori speaker.

David

NZ is Maori, it needs to be that. Maori is the language of Aotearoa.

David

For my niece/goddaughter who is growing up learning te reo

Dave

Because Te Reo is so important to the culture of aotearoa. It is a treasure for us all and by learning and sharing the use of Reo will continue to grow.

Darius

Kua ako au i te reo Māori mō te tau tekau engari kāhore au e kōrero ki tōku kāinga. I have been learning Maori for years but don't speak at home. So I haven't improved as I hoped. I need the chances to kōrero regularly.

Daph