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Awanui Te Huia, author of  He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori (Design: Archi Banal)
Awanui Te Huia, author of He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori (Design: Archi Banal)

BooksSeptember 14, 2022

He Reo Tuku Iho: A new book on the challenges of reclaiming te reo

Awanui Te Huia, author of  He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori (Design: Archi Banal)
Awanui Te Huia, author of He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori (Design: Archi Banal)

Awanui Te Huia’s new book He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori draws on national research project Manawa Ū ki te Reo Māori, about the lived experiences of tangata whenua and and the ways they can reclaim te reo.

Te reo Māori is inextricably linked with identity. Conversations surrounding who is a “real” Māori and who is “more”, or “less” Māori have deep roots in colonial discourses. The late revolutionary thinker, Moana Jackson, indicates that Māori identities have been defined and redefined numerous times, most notably for the purposes of transferring of land titles, which made it easier for the government to acquire Māori lands. His writings indicate that the imposition surrounding Māori authenticity (i.e. the idea that a “real Māori” exists) “is one of the most damaging things that has been done to our people because it has altered the very notion of our identity and worth.”

Discourses surrounding Māori identities that are linked to particular identity hooks or markers contribute to the confidence that individuals have to claim their Māori identity. Identity has historically been a driver that has been used to elicit motivation to use or learn te reo Māori, and this was also found as part of the Manawa Ū ki te Reo Māori study, explored in the book He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori which is being launched next week. 

Many tangata whenua who are learning our ancestral language are doing so while managing a myriad of complex emotions and also juggling life as Māori in the colonial context. For Māori who have a whakapapa connection to te reo, our path towards language reclamation is part of a wider set of connections and transformations that we’re often engaging in to unpack what it means to be learning our own mother tongue as a second language. The “mother tongue”, refers to the language spoken by mother to child. We know that colonisation has impacted on this very intimate relationship, with most Māori learning (as a second language) in formal settings that are far from intimate. 

Te reo Māori is still in the process of being revitalised. What that means is that there are competing drivers for how this abstract goal of revitalisation can be achieved. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has arrived 50 years since the Māori language petition was carried to the steps of parliament by Hana Te Hemara with over 30,000 signatures calling for recognition of our reo. As tangata whenua, Māori have for generations used a number of routes to bring to light the importance of te reo. The last five years we have seen a general increase in public support for te reo Māori, which is positive in a number of ways. What this growing interest in te reo Māori indicates is that as a society, perhaps we are shifting away from overt forms of racism that openly discriminate against the use of te reo Māori. 

This increase in interest and reo Māori uptake has created a new set of conditions that we now need  to grapple with. While the support for te reo Māori by Pākehā has been largely positive, there are also challenges that are playing out in some language learning spaces. For example, Pākehā learners of te reo Māori need to be aware of how their presence in spaces where complex issues of identity and cultural reclamation are occurring impacts on tangata whenua who are in the process of reclaiming their ancestral language.

In our study, Māori who were asked how Pākehā should respond to te reo Māori noted that there are benefits that can come from Pākehā and Māori learning, however, Pākehā learners need to engage in these spaces with manaakitanga and leave space for challenging issues to be worked through. Some examples of behaviours that Pākehā can be aware of in Māori language learning classes from our participants’ perspectives included: being aware of how much time is being spent responding to their questions; how often discussions are centering on Pākehā experiences; how familiar you are with being in a formal learning context, and why that might be the case; how it might feel to be learning your ancestral language and making language errors, when this is desperately something that you want to not “get wrong”, amongst other things. The weight of learning our ancestral language has so many layers of complexity and meaning. And that requires an understanding of how interpersonal and intergroup dynamics play out in language classrooms.  


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With the rise in support for te reo Māori from the mainstream, this provides us as a nation, an opportunity to think about some of the other ways that support from Pākehā would be beneficial in terms of improving the inequalities that exist in our society. If we are comfortable thinking about shifting te reo Māori as part of our national identity for all New Zealanders, it might also be time to reimagine what a truly bicultural nation looks like: where the Treaty is honoured and inequalities that permeate our society at the expense of tangata whenua are prioritised. We are 50 years since the aspirations of more than 30,000 were brought to parliament. Where do we hope we might be in another 50 years? And what difficult conversations might need to be had between now and then to reach that future destination?

He Reo Tuku Iho: Tangata Whenua and Te Reo Māori (THWUP, $30) can be pre-ordered now from Te Herenga Waka University Press, and from 22 September can be purchased from Unity Books Auckland and Wellington.

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