INDEPENDENT NEWS

Whakanuitia te whakaoranga ano o te reo Maori

Published: Sun 14 Sep 2008 02:01 PM
Whakanuitia te whakaoranga ano o te reo Maori – te Ropu Torangapu Maori.
Dr Pita Sharples and Hon Tariana Turia, Co-leaders
Embargoed to 1.00am Sunday 14 September 2008
Korerotia i nga wa katoa, i nga wahi katoa, kia ora tonu ai, ake tonu atu!
E ai ki te Ropu Torangapu Maori, koinei te tikanga nana te reo Maori i whakarauora i nga tau toru tekau ma ono nei, mai i te Ra o te Reo Maori tuatahi, i te tau 1972.
“Tena, kei te puawai nga tumanako o tera reanga, nga pakeke kua ngaro i te tirohanga tangata, nga tauira kua pakeke inaianei, nga mokopuna kua tipu i to ratou ao korero Maori,” te kii a Ahorangi Pita Sharples, tera o nga rangatira o taua ropu.
“Kaore i te maharatia tonutia te matenga a moa o te reo Maori – engari kei te tautohea te mauri o te reo, nga reo motuhake o tena iwi, o tena iwi, te wairua Maori hoki o te hunga korero – a, e tika ana kia tautohea!” hei tana. “E kiia ana, ma te tautohetohe, taukumekume, puhaehae e taea te kite, kei te korikori tonu nga iwi Maori.
“Ko ta te Ropu Torangapu Maori, kia tu hei reo Maori tuturu i roto i te Whare Paremata. Koenei te wahi korero Maori hou mo matou, kia waia ai te kawanatanga ki te rongo mai, kia tika katoa ai ona whakahaerenga mo te kawe atu, kia hau ai te kakara o te reo ki nga topito o te motu,” hei tana ano.
“Tuarua, he hanga kaupapa whakaruruhau mo te reo, he kaupapa whangai i te reo ki te tahua moni kawanatanga, tetahi mahi a te Ropu Torangapu Maori nei, kia whai hua ai nga mahi a tena whanau, a tena hapu, a tena iwi, huri noa i te motu.”
“Kei te mihi matou ki nga toa o te reo, mai i te wa o nga tipuna, heke mai ki o matou matua, ki a tatou ko a tatou tamariki, mokopuna, na ratou to tatou reo i whakamana,” te kupu a Tariana Turia.
“Kei te mihi hoki ki nga kaimahi a iwi, kaimahi kawanatanga hoki e whakapau ana i to ratou kaha ki te hapai i te reo.
“Otira me kaua e wareware, no tena iwi, no tena iwi tona reo, me noho ki a ratou te rangatiratanga. Heoi ano ta te kawanatanga, he tautoko i nga mahi a nga iwi ki te whakapakari i o ratou ake reo,” hei ta Tariana.
“No reira i tenei wa, ko te tumanako, ma to tatou reo me ona tikanga tatou e arahi ki tetahi ao hou e korerotia whanuitia ai te reo rangatira. Kia ora tatou!”
Maori Party celebrates Maori language revival
Dr Pita Sharples and Hon Tariana Turia, Co-leaders
Embargoed to 1.00am Sunday 14 September 2008
Speak it all the time, everywhere, so it lives on forever!
That is how the Maori language has been revitalised over the past thirty six years, since the first National Maori Language Day in 1972, according to the Maori Party.
“Well the hopes of that generation are being realised; the elders who have passed away, the students who have become adults, and successive generations who have grown up in a Maori-speaking world,” said Dr Pita Sharples, co-leader of the party.
“No-one worries any more about the language becoming extinct – instead we argue over the integrity of the language, the maintenance of our distinctive dialects and the cultural values of the Maori-speaking community – as we should!” he said. “People say, debate, dispute and competition are signs that iwi Maori are alive and kicking.”
“The Maori Party’s role is to be the consistent voice of Maori in Parliament. This is the new forum for our people to speak Maori, so the government becomes used to hearing our language, so the instutitions of government become capable of using it, so the fragrance of our language wafts into every corner of the land,” he said.
“Secondly, another role of the Maori Party is to advocate policies to protect the language, and funding policies so the work of whanau, hapu and iwi every bear fruit.”
We salute the champions of our language, from the days of our ancestors, to our parents’ generation and our own, down to our children and grandchildren who have maintained the mana of our reo,” said Tariana Turia.
“We also acknowledge the iwi workers, and government officials, who bust their gut to support our reo.
“However we must not forget, that the language belongs to each hapu and iwi, and they must maintain control. The government’s role is to support iwi initiatives to strengthen their own dialects,” said Tariana.
“For now, what we hope is that our language and its values continue to guide us into a new world in which te reo rangatira not just survives but thrives. Kia ora tatou!”
ends

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