Te Reo

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is pleased to invest $1.5 million over three years in this research initiative, with a tripartite agreement between the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and University of Otago.

Even after 30 years of Māori language revitalisation movements, the Māori language continues to be in a perilous state. Despite these efforts there is no one method that can stem the decline as societal factors still impact adversely on language development.

There are multiple Government funded initiatives aimed at addressing Māori language decline, including increasing the amount of Māori Language spoken, maintenance and quality. Te Puni Kokiri (2006 Health of the Māori Language Report) touched on the attitudes of wider New Zealand society towards the Māori language as unengaging and unlikely to change in the immediate future (p.7).

This significant research programme was led by Distinguished Professor Graham 

Otago has very low numbers of Māori language speakers – French is the most widely spoken second language in the region. Given this context, it is important that any interventions aimed at revitalising and maintaining the Māori language are evidence-based.

The research team for this project in collaboration with Ngāi Tūhoe have sought to actively engage tanagata whenua with all agencies that support building capability in management of wild populations of  Whio (Blue Duck). Whio is one of New Zealand’s national iconic wildlife species. Their presence within our rivers symbolises the completeness and health of our waterways. Whio are currently nationally threatened by predation from introduced predators, loss of habitat, and global climate change; they are not fully secured from extinction.