Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) celebrates 40 years. 

In the early 1970’s it was becoming obvious that less and less people in New Zealand were able to speak Māori. Many people were concerned by the state of decline, and signed a Māori language petition which was organised, in part, by the Te Reo Māori Society. In total, 30,000 people signed the petition, which was presented to Parliament on 14th September 1972. This day become recognised as Māori Language Day, and in 1975 was responsible for the formation of Māori Language Week.(Source: KiwiFamilies)

(Source: FinnianGalbraith)

Finnian Galbraith, a Year 11 student at Kapiti College, wrote this speech for a speech competition in 2014. He delivers a message about the correct pronunciation of Te Reo, and helps us to understand we already pronounce the sounds required. 

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori gives us the chance to celebrate something unique to our country. On the display board in the library will be examples of kiwaha, everyday sayings that you can put into practice. You can also scan the QR codes to hear some proverbs.

If you are interested in learning a few more kupu/words you can also go to 365-maori-words

Haere mai ki te whare pukapuka.