Joel Maxwell: Kaua e pukuriri ki te reo - don't be angry at the language
This piece is translated into two languages as part of Māori Language Week. Read the te reo Māori version, or read the English version.
Kua tae mai te wiki o te reo Māori. Ko tēnei te wiki o te reo Māori tuatahi e āhei ana ahau ki te kōrero me te mārama i te reo rangatira.
Ko tērā tāku moemoeā, i puta ai i te ao!
Aroha mai. E koretake ana au i ngā pūkenga o te kōrero me te tuhia o te reo Māori. Engari, ka taea au ki te hanga i ētahi rerenga māmā. Ka taea au ki te mārama i ētahi kōrero. E hara i te tere. He āta haere kē!
READ MORE:
* Learning te reo has made me whole
* My week as a te reo toddler
* Halftime, and the game's going well
I tēnei tau i oho tōku ngākau me te hua o te reo Māori. Kāore au ka taea ki te mārama tika i ngā mātauranga o te wairua, me te mauri, i te ao Māori. He hōhonu ēnei mea. Engari, kei te mōhio au tēnei: e harikoa ana au i tēnei tau. Kia tau te rangimārie i tēnei tau. Nā te mea: I tīmata au te ako o te reo i te akomanga o Heke Reo i Te Wānanga o Raukawa. I a Ōtaki ki te raki o Whanga-nui-a-tara.
Ngā mihi nui ki ngā kaiako me ngā kaiāwhina rawe i te wānanga, mo ōu rātou mātauranga, me manaakitanga. (Aroha mai mo nga hapa i tēnei tuhinga. Nōku te hē.) Ngā mihi hoki ki ngā ākonga. He tino rawe ērā tāngata - tāngata Māori me tāngata Pākehā. He waka eke noa, nē rā?
I tuhia au, mo Stuff, i te kaupapa o te ao Māori me aku haerenga i te ako o te reo Māori i tēnei tau.
He tino rawe ngā whakautu nā ētahi o ngā tāngata pānui. Kāore he pai, ngā whakautu o ētahi atu tāngata.
He pukuriri era tāngata. He aha ai? Nā te mea – I tēnei wiki – i tuhia au i te reo Māori noa iho. Tērā te hara ki tōu rātou whakaaro. Nā te mea e whakaaro ana ētahi tāngata he hoariri te reo ki a rātou.
Kāore au i mōhio he aha ai. Tērā pea, kei te mārama ērā tāngata te hara o ōu rātou tūpuna Pākehā i tēnei rohe. I tāhaetia te whenua e ōu rātou tūpuna. I tāhaetia te ngahere e ōu rātou tūpuna. I tāhaetia te reo hoki e ōu rātou tupūna. E tāhae tonu ana ērā tangata pukuriri.
Engari: e hiahia ana mātou, ōu mātou taonga.
Ahakoa ngā whakautu kāore-he-pai, e hiahia ana au te hononga o ētahi tāngata Māori (ae, me ētahi tāngata Pākehā hoki) ki te roopu o te ako o te reo Māori. Tērā te mea nui o āku tuhinga i tēnei tau. Mehemea kotahi tangata ka hono ki tērā kaupapa – i aku tuhinga – he harikoa ahau.
Kua huri au ki te mutunga o tāku kōrero mo te wiki o te reo Māori. Ngā mihi ki a koutou, o ngā tāngata mīharo! Oh, kei te katakata au i te whakaaro o ētahi tāngata me tētahi rorohiko. Tērā pea me kimi ērā tāngata mo te māramatanga o tēnei kōrero me te awhina o Google translate.
Kei te rangirua koutou o ērā tāngata i te whakawhititanga o tera mihini?
Kaua kōrero ki tētahi mihini mo te mōhio o te reo Māori! He aha te mea nui o te ao? Kāore he robot. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.
Ako te reo, e hoa mā!
OPINION: The wiki o te reo Māori has arrived. This is my first wiki o te reo Māori where I can actually speak the language of my tūpuna. This is a dream come true.
My skill level is still very low, but I can put together simple sentences, and I can understand some of what is being said around me – as long as it is not spoken too quickly.
This year my heart has awoken with the blossoming of te reo Māori.
I do not fully understand concepts such as wairua, and mauri from the Māori world. These are deep concepts.
But I do know that learning the language has made me more happy and peaceful this year. All because I started learning te reo Māori fulltime, in full immersion.
I want to thank the knowledgeable and generous teaching staff at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki, north of Wellington, and the incredible students, Māori and Pākehā, who are also on this waka.
This year I have written for Stuff about things Māori, and my experiences on the course. Some of the responses have been very good, others not good. These come from people who are angry.
Why? This week it's because my column is written in a language they consider to be their enemy.
I do not know why these people feel such anger towards the language. Maybe they feel bad because they know in their hearts that their Pākehā tūpuna stole this land. They stole the forests and they stole the language. The theft continues with the likes of these angry people. But Māori want it back.
Despite the many not-good responses, my hope is that this weekly column will encourage Māori people (and yes, Pākehā people too) to join the learners of te reo Māori. If I knew that even one person joined this kaupapa because of it, then I would feel very happy.
Oh, and I have to chuckle at the thought of people trying to use Google translate on this. Are you confused yet, because of the translating ability of a machine? Don't trust a machine to understand te reo Māori!
What is the most important thing in the world? It isn't a robot. It is the people, the people, the people.
Learn the language, my friends!
Te wiki o te reo Māori/Māori Language Week runs from September 10 to 16.
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