Sua William Sio Pacific Island Affairs Spokesperson

7 August 2012

Cook Islands language week highlights bilingual education

Events celebrating Cook Islands Language Week highlight the importance of indigenous languages and Pacific bilingual education here in New Zealand, says Labours Pacific Island Affairs spokesperson Sua William Sio.

This is the first national celebration of the Cook Islands language with a week of events (6-10 August) inspired by similar celebrations for Maori, Samoan, Tongan and New Zealand sign communities.

The theme for the week is; Taku reo ko toku ia akairo my language gives meaning to my existence and identity.

This is an important message already embraced by the community here and overseas, Sua William Sio said.

However, the Governments record on bilingual education is mixed. While I want to commend the Cook Islands Development Agency New Zealand for developing four Cook Islands bilingual language books - which will be launched this Friday - there is no indication as to whether the Government will recommit to the TUPU series and Folauga journals it put on hold.

The community remain concerned by the Governments removal of the Pacific language bilingual plan from its overall strategy, including the TUPU resource series for Cook Islands children, and believe Pacific bilingual language education should be reinstated.

It is worrying that almost 80 percent of Cook Islanders living and going to school in Auckland cannot speak their indigenous language. We all know that remaining fluent in a language takes a lot of effort.

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Cook Islands language week highlights bilingual education