Translator: Madoka Mizumoto Reviewer: Lisa Thompson
Don't you hate it when people pronounce things w-rong?
Isn't it just so annoying?
(Laughter)
The worst is when people pronounce your own name wrong.
Don't you just hate that?
But yet, on TV, on the radio,
things that people see and hear every day,
so many of us are pronouncing Māori words and names completely wrong,
too many of us.
Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of our country,
and it's being pronounced completely wrong on an everyday basis.
"I go to Kāpiti College." "Let's go to Raumati."
"In the holidays, I went to Taupō."
It is happening everywhere.
It is something very important that needs to be changed.
The Māori language is a huge part of our heritage
and is an official language of our country,
along with English and sign language.
Culture is priceless,
and it is something that should be embraced
and something that we as a country should be proud of.
But, do we act as though we are proud of our native language?
Unless you count pronouncing Māori words completely wrong
and making no effort to try and pronounce them correctly,
then no.
It is very important that we all make an effort
to, at the absolute least,
pronounce the words of our official language correctly.
Now, when I try talking to people
about the importance of correctly pronouncing
these Māori words,
I'm met with replies like,
"Well, it's not part of my culture
because my granddad came from a different country,"
or "It's just the Pākehā way of saying it,"
or "You don't even know how to pronounce that
because you're white."
Actually, there is no Pākehā way of saying Māori words,
and if I can't speak Māori correctly because I'm not Māori,
does that mean no one can ever learn a new language?
And it's not that hard to learn a little bit of the Māori language
and find out how to pronounce the words correctly,
and people can learn just by listening.
Now, I'm no expert in this, and I don't claim to be,
and I know I don't always get it right,
but I give it a go, and I'm willing to learn,
and that is what counts.
All that is required to pronounce Māori words correctly
is a little bit of effort.
That little bit of effort is a crucial part
of preserving the language of our indigenous culture,
something that, unlike English, is irreplaceable if it dies out
because no other countries speak Te reo Māori.
And it is part of all New Zealanders' culture,
even if you are originally from a different country.
You live in this country,
and therefore, you should be proud of your nation's heritage,
and you should try and preserve it.
And, if we lose the language - the pillar of tradition -
our whole culture will be weakened,
and a whole lot of history and knowledge will be lost with our language.
The Māori language is integral to our national identity,
and our beautiful indigenous culture is at risk of being lost forever.
We don't want to end up like Australia.
(Laughter)
There used to be over 250 Aboriginal languages in Australia,
but now only 35 unendangered ones remain.
The wonderful Australian Aboriginal culture is disappearing.
We cannot let this happen in our country.
The amount of Māori-speaking people in our country
is already starting to decline.
Only four percent of New Zealanders can speak fluent Māori,
and 84 percent of those are of Māori ethnicity.
The percentage of Māori who can speak the language
dropped by nearly five percent between 2006 and 2013.
We need to take action immediately, before it is too late.
But what is the lasting solution to this problem?
Well, I was taught Te reo Māori at Paekākāriki primary school once a week,
and all students did kapa haka.
This has helped me so much,
and it is a skill that I'll carry throughout my life.
I noticed that my friends who pronounce Māori words incorrectly
had no Māori classes at primary school.
This means they have very limited knowledge of the Māori language,
and they also struggle to see the importance of it.
One simple way to get people to start speaking more Te reo
is to teach it at primary school.
Kids are eager to learn at this age,
and it will become second nature
for them to pronounce these words correctly
if they're taught at primary school.
So, I propose this:
it is compulsory for kids
to have at least an hour of learning Te reo Māori per week
and all teachers have a basic knowledge of the language as well.
(Applause) (Cheering)
To be honest, this isn't much,
but it could just give people enough knowledge of the language
to help preserve it.
I think each schoolchild should have a knowledge of at least 150 Māori words
by the time they leave primary school
so they can hold a basic conversation in New Zealand's indigenous language.
The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840
by many European settlers and Māori chiefs,
said that Māori would be recognized
as tangata whenua of New Zealand, the people of the land.
This means tikanga Māori, the Māori culture,
has a special importance within Aotearoa - New Zealand.
Non-Māori like me have a responsibility to live by and respect these principles,
and valuing Te reo comes under this.
The treaty is like our license to be here, and that comes with responsibilities.
Now, as I mentioned earlier,
people hate English being pronounced incorrectly, especially their names.
But yet,
is it fine for people to go around pronouncing Māori names incorrectly?
Treat others how you would like to be treated.
If you expect someone to pronounce your name correctly,
no matter how simple your name is,
then you should be able to pronounce Māori names correctly.
And if you can't, then you should learn.
I have heard stories from my college of people with Māori names
who have classmates who always incorrectly pronounce their name.
Is it because it's too hard to pronounce,
or simply because they just can't be bothered trying?
How is this fair?
We, as a country, pride ourselves on being a fair society,
but are we really ...
when we can't even pronounce some indigenous people's names right?
This issue isn't even about learning Te reo;
it is about basic respect, and people have a right to be respected.
This message relates not only to New Zealand,
but to nearly all other countries around the world.
Most of them have their own unique and special indigenous culture,
some of which are very close to - or have already died out.
That culture is a huge part of making that country who they are,
and the people of that nation especially should be trying their absolute best
to celebrate and preserve this culture.
Only when the last word has been spoken, the last tradition has disappeared,
and the Western world has taken over,
only then will we realize culture is irreplaceable.
Now, I would like to leave everyone here
with a wero, a challenge, especially to other Pākehā here like me:
Give pronouncing Māori words correctly a go.
Don't just be a sheep and stick with the crowd.
You could start off a chain that helps preserve our wonderful culture
and even encourages it to grow.
Thank you.
(Applause) (Cheering)