METRONEWS
© New Zealand Broadcasting School 2024

Ara students give Te Reo Māori a go

Isaiah Smiler
Duncan Weich

Ō te rā whaitohu ki te wiki ō te reo Māori. Engari, e whaimohio ana ngā tāngata ō Ara? Kei te hīkoi au ngā huanui ki ui ngā tauira, he pēhea te kōrero ingoa ō tāone ki Katapere.

Translation: Today marks the start of Māori language week. But, just how informed are the people of Ara? We spoke to a few Ara students to see if they knew how to correctly pronounce Māori place names around Canterbury.

 

We tested Ara students' Māori pronunciation.

So Ara students did pretty well, but how did the rest of Christchurch fare?

It seems Cantabrians would rather run for the Port Hills than attempt Te Reo Māori. Locals lack confidence when they try to pronounce Māori place names around Canterbury.

We entered the Christchurch CBD this morning to try and get everyday people to pronounce eight Māori place names, but we found barely anyone willing to try.

University of Canterbury School of Māori and Indigenous Studies spokeswoman Karen Murphy said it just goes to show that not many New Zealanders were interested in giving even the simplest Te Reo Māori a go.

"If we want to become intergrated and have a happy country, people have got to learn to respect each others culture and our culture." 

Māori Language week continues until September 17.

For more information on Māori language week go to the Te Taura Whiri website.