New Zealand: Languages

The three official languages in New Zealand are English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language(right). It is apparent that the most widely-spoken language is English (95.9%), followed by the Maori language, which makes up 4.1%. It is also indicated that approximately 24,000 people are able to communicate in sign language (Statistics New Zealand, 2006, p. 6). The Maori language was first recognised as the official language of New Zealand in 1987, while the New Zealand Sign Language in April 2006, making New Zealand the first country in the world to declare sign language as its official language. The sign language is now used in legal proceeding too in courts and government services. However, despite being the official language, it still struggles against being lost. Perhaps one of the reasons is the prohibition of using the Maori language in school in the 1880s. Coupled with the fact that Maori people moving to the cities, they felt the pressure to speak English, and that the younger generations are not raised with the language. Therefore, programmes such as Kura Kaupapa Māori and the Kōhanga Reo movement are developed to recover the language. Some other languages in the outlying islands and territories are Cook Islands Maori, Moriori Language and Tokelaun.

Below is a list of common Maori words:

Maori	English
Kia ora	Hello
Haka	A chant with dance used before a challange
Waiata	A song or chant
Koha	A gift or donation
Tangi	To cry or mourn
Whare paku	Toilet
Kai	Food
Whakapapa	Genealogy; ancestral history
Iwi	People and nation
Aroha	Love and/ or compassion
Whanau	Extended family
Puku	Belly
Hui	A meeting of any kind
Pakeha	The word Maori use to describle people of European descent