Te Reo Maori in decline
I’ve just read some sad, but not unsurprising news about the state of Maori language learning in New Zealand. Although te reo Maori learning had a boom in the 90s, with lots of kids learning the language, it has been in steady decline since then. This has been a compounding problem, so now there are fewer fluent Maori speakers, and this also means a lack of people qualified to teach it.
Sadly, the majority of people still think that Maori is on the up-and-up. The Waitangi Tribunal has “warned speaker numbers are declining and said there is a ”deep unease” over the Crown’s response to the decline.”
There have been a few suggestions as to how to address the problems, but nothing has emerged as a real solution. It’s a tough job trying to motivate learners while also having to deal with funding and government issues, but I really hope a successful campaign emerges, as it would be a tragedy to lose such a beautiful, historic language.
Full article: The Dominion Post.
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Shad said,
May 8, 2011 @ 3:38 pm
Is there anywhere in Sydney that teaches Maori still???
Wendy said,
May 10, 2011 @ 6:01 pm
Hi Shad,
I’m not sure of details, but you could always contact Language Trainers in Australia to see if they could put you in touch with a private trainer.
Otherwise, I found a page at Maori in Oz which might be a good start.
Good luck!
Bernie said,
May 16, 2011 @ 11:30 am
I am seriously looking into holding a Māori Language weekend workshop in Sydney this year.(2011)