History of te reo Māori
In order to gain some understanding of the struggles of
Māori learners today it helps to look at the history of te reo Māori language. Following colonisation in 1814 the
missionaries set up schools to introduce the Māori people to Christianity (Royal, 2011) . These teachings were in English and the
speaking of te reo Māori was discouraged emphatically by these early settlers (Royal, 2011) . In fact, Royal (2011) states that it came to
the point that speaking te reo Māori was outlawed and this led to the demise of
Māori language and culture. In the 1970’s
it was evident that the number of Māori people who spoke the language and had
knowledge of Māori culture, and tikanga (protocols and customs) was sadly, in
decline (Royal, 2011) .
The supporters of te reo Māori and Māori ways
of being, put pressure on the government in a united movement, and sought to
legitimise the use and “visibility of the Māori language” (Royal, 2011, p. 2) . After many years of sustained uprising in the
1980’s the government finally recognised te reo Māori as an official language
of Aotearoa New Zealand (Forsyth & Leaf, 2010) . Furthermore, this
led to the formation of Te Kōhanga Reo nests (Māori language schools) and the
declaration of te reo Māori as a taonga or treasure as outlined in Article Two
of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Forsyth & Leaf, 2010). The Māori Language Act was first written in 1987,
it has recently been updated in the revised 2016 version. With such changes as being written in te
reo Māori first, followed by the English translation and legalising the ability
to write laws in Māori language was a second amendment (Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 Māori Language
Act, 2018) . The history of te reo
On a final note to sum up the importance of language to a
culture, it is through language that culture is carried, it disseminates a
culture’s values and customs through the generations, it supports a child “to
link up everything in his or her world.
It is one of the most important forms of empowerment that a child can
have” (Pere & Nicholson, 1997) .
References
Forsyth, H., & Leaf, G. (2010). Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism in early childhood education. In B. Clark, & A. Grey (Eds.), Āta kitea te pae - Scanning the horizon: Perspectives on early childhood education (pp. 23-36). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson.
Claudia Orange, 'Treaty of Waitangi - Interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi', Te Ara - the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/treaty-of-waitangi/page-2 (accessed 2 April 2018)
Royal, D. (2011). Forword. In Kia Tangi Te Tītī: Permission to speak: Successful schooling for Māori students in the 21st century: Issues , challenges and alternatives (pp. 1-5). Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER Press.
Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 Māori Language Act. (2018, March). Retrieved from New Zealand Legislation: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2016/0017/29.0/DLM6174509.html
Good description of the history. Sums up what happened back then. Adore the summary and quote you ended your paragraph with! Really enhances the importance of your topic for children.
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