A couple of years ago, Timoti Karetu, who’s now 82, was knighted for his services to Te Reo Māori. That KNZM wasn’t any surprise because, in a career spanning 60 years, he’d been a major force on behalf of the language — as a school teacher, university lecturer and professor, haka performer, composer and tutor, author, Māori Language Commissioner, kōhanga reo advocate, mentor and, above all, a stickler for standards.