He aha rā te hua o te kaiwhakawhiti reo i te ao hangarau nei? Kāore e kore, kei te haramai te wā, me tuku kē mā te mihīni ngā kōrero e whakamāori. He tere, he hāngai, he mārama ngā kōrero – he māmā ake hoki pea te utu. E whakaae ana koe?

Ki te tiro whakamuri tātou, ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke o te reo Māori i roto i ngā tau, kei reira tonu ngā kaiwhakawhiti reo. Ko Tūpaia te kaiwhakawhiti reo rongonui nō te wā o te taenga mai o Kāpene Kuki. He huhua ngā rangatira o Ngāpuhi, pērā i a Pūmuka, i tū hei kaiwhakawhiti reo mā ngā mihingare Pākehā o taua wā. Otirā, ehara i te mea he Māori anake ngā kaiwhakamāori. Nā te mihingare nō Ingarangi, nā Wiremu Wiremu te pukapuka karakia Te Rongo Pai i whakamāori. Ko Te Karuwhā tētahi Pākehā e mōhiotia ana mō tana whakamāoritanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Whai muri mai i a rātou, ko ngā kaiwhakawhiti reo o te Kōti Whenua Māori, o ngā momo whare pāremata tae noa mai ki a mātou ngā kaiwhakawhiti reo o ēnei rā. He kaiwhakawhiti reo mō te huhua o ngā kaupapa i roto, i waho hoki o Aotearoa.

Nui atu i te 200 tau tēnei mahi e haere ana i tēnei whenua, heoi, kua tino huri te ao ināianei, arā, kua hāoa tētahi wāhi nui o ngā tūranga mahi o te ao e te hangarau. Āe rānei, ka riro hoki ngā tūranga o te kaiwhakawhiti reo ā ngā tau e heke mai nei?

Kei te tika pea taua kōrero mēnā he whakawhiti kupu noa iho te mahi a te kaiwhakamāori, engari, kei te mārama te iwi reo-rua, (ahakoa te reo) ehara i te mea kei te whakawhiti kupu noa iho mātou.

Ahakoa te aronui o ētahi ki te tika o te takoto o te kupu, ki a au, ko tētahi o ngā pūkenga nui o te kaiwhakawhiti reo ā-waha, ā-tuhi anō hoki, ko tōna mārama ki te horopaki, ki te kounga o te kōrero e whakamāorihia ana e ia.

Kei te mōhio rānei koe ki te waiata 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' i te reo Māori? Ki te whakauruhia atu aua kupu ki roto i te Google Translate ka kore koe e kite i ngā kupu a te waiata tamariki e arohanuitia ana e tātou katoa. Nā te aha? Nā te mea, ka kite te mihīni i te kupu anake, kāore e taea te toro atu ki ētahi atu momo mōhioranga hei whāngai i tana whakamāoritanga o te kupu.

Kei te toro atu te kaiwhakawhiti reo ki ōna mōhioranga mō te ao whānui, kaua ki te kupu anake. He tino kaiwhakarongo, he kairangahau, he kaipānui, he kanohi hōmiromiro hoki te kaiwhakawhiti reo. Me mārama ia ki ngā whāinga a te kaitono whakamāoritanga, me rangahau, me pānui, me tuku pātai i ngā wā e tika ana, e puta mai ai he māramatanga mō te whānui o te kaupapa me āna mahi.

Hāunga ngā pūkenga motuhake o te kaiwhakawhiti reo, he wā anō, me whai whakaaro te kaiwhakamāori ki ngā tikanga, ki te mātauranga me ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā mātua tīpuna e rangona mai ai te wairua Māori i roto i āna mahi.

I tēnei wā, kāore i te rorohiko ngā pūkenga katoa o te kaiwhakawhiti reo. Kāore e kore, ka whanake haere tonu te ao hangarau i roto i ngā tau—ka mātau ake te rorohiko ki te mahi whakamāori. Mēnā ka nui ake ngā whakamāoritanga i roto i te ao i runga i tēnei āhuatanga, he aha hoki te hē o tēnā?

Hei tā te kōrero, kei te takiwā o te 40 ngā kaiwhakamāori e mahi ana hei kaiwhakamāori i Aotearoa i tēnei wā. Mōku ake, kāore au i te āwangawanga mō te rironga o taku mahi i te rorohiko, ki a au, ko te take nui tonu mō te reo ko te tokoiti o te hunga e kawe ana te reo i roto i ngā mahi o ia rā. Ki te kore te reo e pīrangitia, ki te kore e kōrerohia, e tuhia, e pānuihia ko te pātai nui i roto i a au - he aha hoki te take o aku whakamāoritanga?