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The problem with Māori | ||
Tags: Maori | Usefulness | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6317 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes  2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French | Message 1 of 6 16 April 2012 at 6:54am | IP Logged |
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I'm in a rather curious situation. I live in New Zealand, and we have three official languages: English, Māori and NZ Sign Language. I have a wide-ranging interest in languages and seriously intend at some point to study Eskimo Greenlandic and Latin.
Why do I mention these two languages in particular? Because to most people they would be seen as overwhelmingly impractical and therefore a waste of time and effort to learn. Greenlandic is spoken by a paltry 50,000 speakers and Latin of course by almost no one, at least not natively. And yet these two languages for me, as a born-and-raised New Zealander living in my native country, are infinitely more practical to me than Te Reo Māori, the second official language of New Zealand. The reason for this is two-fold: For one, Māori is a language that is largely restricted to the home and, as far as I can ascertain, is otherwise treated ceremonially as in welcoming ceremonies and the like. This means the only real natural environment in which the language is spoken is among Māori families and close friends. Furthermore, it is probably safe to say that close to 100% of native Māori speakers speak English just as well, and in many cases, considerably better. The number of ethnic Māori in New Zealand constitute a single-figure percentage in terms of the overall population, and only something like 50% of them claim to be able to speak the language. Of those, the number who are truly competent and even eloquent in the language is probably even less. The second problem is that there is almost no literature to be found in Māori, which really puts a damper on my motivation to learn it. Certainly, there are books in Māori, but the overall quantity seems too small to even say that there is such a thing as "Māori literature". Indeed, I even read an article which stated that the Māori literature prize, which is awarded annually, was not given out one year for lack of submissions. Of those that have been awarded, they are most commonly given to English-language writers of Māori ethnicity. So, in effect, a language like Greenlandic presents more opportunity for use, since it is truly the national language of Greenlandic, and Latin offers a massive corpus of written works that I can indulge in, despite the language no longer being spoken. All in all, it seems these languages are more practical for me than the second official language of my own country. In order to hopefully inspire some discussion on this topic, I will end with two questions: 1) Are you in a comparable situation (ie., limited opportunities or interest in learning an official language of your homeland) and if so, did you choose to learn it or not? Why? 2) Can you think of any other reason that might warrant the time and effort needed to learn Māori? I would love to hear from other New Zealanders on this topic, to see what they think. I don't know how many Māori speakers we have on this forum, but if any should happen upon this thread, their input would be most appreciated. Edited by ChristopherB on 17 April 2012 at 9:49am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| swedeenz Newbie New ZealandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5015 days ago 17 posts - 23 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Bulgarian | Message 2 of 6 17 April 2012 at 1:15am | IP Logged |
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I pondered this question myself whether Māori was worth learning or not, since it's the
official language of NZ. But as you pointed out, the language nowdays is mainly ceremonial. I have never heard someone having a conversation in maori other than when I was on a Marae for some cemoronies during my time in the army, and even then it wasn't a conversation just the welcoming and that. I have Māori friends, but none that speak Māori, so I don't see the opportunity for myself really to practice the language other than watching the Maori channel on TV. The sad fact is, I hear more German and other various european languages than I hear Maori in New Zealand. Therefore I don't find the language worth learning for myself. Edited by swedeenz on 17 April 2012 at 1:16am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| dinguino Nonaglot Groupie GermanyRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4755 days ago 55 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, German*, FrenchC1, Catalan, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Turkish, Russian, Irish | Message 3 of 6 20 February 2014 at 8:29pm | IP Logged |
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This topic is a bit old, but I will write my answer nonetheless:
I have read that the Maori culture and language have seen a kind of renaissance from the 1990's on and that there are more and more kindergartens and schools that teach the Maori language. Obviously this is because the language was even threatened at some point. Since the "renaissance" people in New Zealand start to identify with the Maori culture and to a larger extent nowadays more people consider themselves Maori than it was the case some 20-30 years ago. So why not learn the language for the sake of helping your country's culture to revive? After all, the Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand and it is a pity that in these days everybody seems to be absorbed by the English language... I vote for more diversity in this world! Don't give up this language, because nobody seems to speak it! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Rowilsonwik Newbie United States kipeesh.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4847 days ago 8 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* | Message 4 of 6 01 May 2014 at 6:58am | IP Logged |
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Dinguino
You're right. The language is seeing an immense revival and many families are taking responsibility to learn the language and raise their children in it as well. I for one am on the same journey living in the US but with the goal of raising my daughter in Te Reo Māori. She will be the only American kid who can speak Māori that's for sure. As mentioned in the previous posts, there are a lack of public places to hear and speak Māori that aren't marae or formal occasions. So the essence is on speaking the language in the home which families are embracing. I foresee the next generation of kids raising the overall percentage of Māori speakers in NZ. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Medulin Tetraglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 4669 days ago 1199 posts - 2192 votes Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali | Message 5 of 6 01 May 2014 at 7:09am | IP Logged |
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Maori is a beautiful language,
don't let it die. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5477 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 6 of 6 28 May 2014 at 6:28am | IP Logged |
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I am all for diminishing the omnipresence of English and increasing linguistic diversity and would love to see
Maori wipe out English in NZ (sense my distaste of globalisation?/ dominance of English).... but.... I think the thorough learning of minority languages should be considered very carefully for the individual- it's tricky enough learning a well known, widely spoken second language. Ensure you're willing to accept the difficulties in finding resources/opportunities to use the language. It's likely (not a certainty but likely) to continue throughout your life. It could be unfair to coax an individual kiwi into learning Maori for the good of the nation/Maori people if the individual is not up to the task/passionate about the task for the long journey that learning such a language to a high level of proficiency is. Consider all aspects and go with what is right for you is what I say 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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