35 Years Since Te Reo Became An Official Language Of New Zealand | Scoop News – Scoop

Monday, 1 August 2022, 5:17 amPress Release: Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori

Te reo Mori became an official language in its owncountry 35-years-ago today and the battle for its survivalhas yet to be won says the Mori Language Commission. TheMori Language Act came into force on the 1 August1987.

The battle for te reo Mori has been foughtin communities across Aotearoa, from our smallest towns toour biggest cities. In 1987 some warned that making te reoan official language would divide New Zealanders but35-years later, te reo is something that unites us, saidProfessor Rawinia Higgins, Mori LanguageCommissioner.

From the 1 million people who joinedus for our Mori Language Moments, to the thousands singingour anthem in te reo at All Black tests and the hundredstaking part in total immersion kura reo every weekend: tereo is part of our national identity as New Zealanders andconnects us all to this place we call home.

ForMori New Zealanders, te reo is an integral part of ouridentity. It tells the story of our families and links usforever to our ancestors and to Aotearoa. The battle for itssurvival is part of the story of every Morifamily.

Today also marks the 35th birthday of theMori Language Commission, which opened its doors when theMori Language Act became law.

But the battle is not over:we need 1 million speakers of te reo by 2040 to safeguardour language for future generations. Those babies born todaywill be the first adult generation of speakers in 2040, thecountdown is on.

The commission is launching acampaign calling for New Zealanders to start capturing themany stories of the battle for te reo Mori, to ensure thatthe languages journey will be told and understood inyears to come.

We want to ensure that families andcommunities capture te reo stories that matter to them.Whether people want to share them publicly: is up to them.The main thing is that they are captured so that futuregenerations can understand why and how our people fought forthe survival of te reo Mori.

In the next monthwe will launch a timeline and website for people to sharetheir stories of our battle for te reo Mori: Keep an eyeout for it!

50-years-ago in 1972the Mori Language Petition, calling on thegovernment to protect te reo and teach it in schools, waspresented to parliament. That day, the 14th September becameMori Language Day and later Mori LanguageWeek. For the past two years at the moment the petitionwas presented, 12pm on the 14th September: more than 1million New Zealanders have stopped to celebrate theMori Language Moment.

TeTaura Whiri i te Reo Moriwebsite

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35 Years Since Te Reo Became An Official Language Of New Zealand | Scoop News - Scoop