No-one's forcing you to learn te reo, give it a go though bro

Thursday, 13 September 2018

Sarah Moore is learning te reo through a 12-week course at AUT.

Sarah Moore is taking part in a 12-week te reo course in an effort to show her irāmutu (niece) her whole family values her Māori heritage. This is her ninth column.

OPINION: 'Stop forcing me to learn te reo'. It's a comment that has echoed through the message board section on almost all of my columns.

And not just on my articles; it seems every story touching on te reo brings out a tribe of te reo resistance rebels – individuals pronouncing the language is being shoved down their throats and they're just not having it.

I have unfortunate news for those who feel that way.

This week Trade Me has been renamed Tauhoko and is releasing another 50 Māori words and phrases to its app.

Stuff.co.nz is now Puna; a spring of water or a place for reflection, and its regional newspapers have had their mastheads updated with their te reo equivalent.

* The question of compulsory te reo Māori in schools

* Why Stuff has become Puna for Māori Language Week**

You'll no longer find Christchurch on the Metservice site; you're now looking for Ōtautahi.

Te Wiki o te reo Māori, Māori Language Week, is in full swing so you're all being 'forced' to consume a little more te reo than you were last week. I hope everyone's coping okay.

Yes, I read my columns' comments - they actually keep the fire in my belly, especially those declaring the language is 'dead' – but hearing that readers feel 'forced' to learn to reo doesn't quite sit right with me.

Firstly – you don't have to click on the articles. Just like learning te reo, that's a choice you get to make.

Secondly – if you read an article about high-heeled Crocs, that's not the author forcing you to wear Crocs (I'll definitely tell you not to do that though).

If you open an article about the Warriors, that's not a sports journo forcing you to become a fan (I know – bad example after the weekend).

I've been ramping up my wāhi mahi (workplace) te reo recently but I doubt anyone I've greeted with 'mōrena' (good morning) or 'kia ora' feels they're having te reo forced on them.

To be fair, I haven't checked - probably because most of them have said it back.

Likewise, it's actually impossible for my columns to force anyone to learn or speak te reo.

However, if as a consequence of reading my opinion piece, someone is inspired to give te reo a go, I hope I have the chance to hear more of their journey as I believe it will enrich their life as it has mine.

The idea of a language being forced upon you isn't pleasant – so just consider, for a moment, the fact that for decades Māori have been forced to speak English.

It's not hard to find someone who has a tale of a family member who literally had te reo beaten out of them when they spoke it at school.

Do I encourage you to consider learning te reo Māori? Yes, of course I do, you know that if you've been reading these columns. But the choice to make it a part of your life is yours and yours alone.

Learning from my own experience, I believe even a basic understanding will enrich your life – and in ways you may not predict – and that each of us knowing a little te reo makes for a better country.

Thousands of New Zealanders have voluntarily made that choice by enrolling at institutes around the country to participate in lessons, meeting in cafes to discuss the language, and bringing te reo to life in the workplace. All individuals who haven't been forced.

I won't ever understand the rage directed toward te reo by some people. While I've previously been indifferent to Māori Language Week, hearing te reo spoken has always filled my heart with happiness.

Because it reminds me I'm in Aotearoa, my home.

Lastly – here's a few things I think Kiwis should do: clean their teeth, twice a day for goodness' sake. Recycle. Play a sport growing up. Drop cigarette butts in a rubbish bin. Be kind to one another. And show respect for one another's cultures – especially a culture and language that belongs to New Zealand.

Kia kaha te reo Māori.

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