Normalising te reo Māori

The world of language normalisation is vast, and generally, those who are interested in becoming advocates for te reo Māori have a few questions: 

  • What’s the difference between normalisation and revitalisation?
  • What’s a small step I can take? Whats a big step I can take?
  • How can te reo Māori be of benefit to my organisation?
  • How do I make sure I get it right!
  • What are the tools I can use?

These are some of the things that came up at the inaugural Uhi Tai event in 2023. We had people on board from every walk of life, talking about how incorporating te reo Māori in their work is just a common-sense decision.

Here’s a few quotes from last year’s speakers:

“When the need is there and the challenge is put before us, this country can get up stand up and move things to be able to achieve goals that benefit the whole country - koira tetahi mea mō te reo Māori pea.” - Ruakere Hond 

 

"If the biggest global media giant in the world can see that we are relevant, it shouldn't be hard to do that on our own whenua." - Disney Reo Māori  

 

“One of the effects of this change that we are starting to see is the return of the water back to the shore, and in many ways an indication of all kinds of New Zealanders embracing our language and helping to normalise it.” - Māori Language Commissioner Professor Rawinia Higgins