How are we doing, Aotearoa?

Kia ora y’all.

Thought it was about time I put my two cents worth in again. Not that two cents gets you any where these days, it’s rounded up now, no? My ten cents worth then. (Not that the reader has any knowledge of my life abroad but) I kind of miss British pennies and the strategies needed to have a whole quid or more returned during transactions to lessen the load in the pocket. At the very least I was practising basic math. Bring back the copper Mr Key.

Speaking of Mr Key, I was sitting here swiveling on my chair wondering what sort of effort the NZ government is putting in to reviving Maori and it appears there’s a decent amount of attention – but I question if this slow assimilation is the right tactic.

Tau Mai Te Reo has been developed to ensure there is a connected and cohesive approach to education contributions that support and strengthen the Māori language. The Ministry of Education and education sector agencies have obligations, as Crown agencies, to actively protect Māori language as a taonga guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi. Maori language week is a part of this plan.

As at 1 July 2014 there were 17,713 students enrolled in Māori medium education, representing 2.3% of the total school population.

Perhaps an abrupt change would outrage a few, probably many, and it would be a risky approach for a government but when you balance that with the benefits of being bilingual, perhaps it’s not.

Tags: Bilingual, indigenous languages, Maori Language, new zeland, Te Reo