With Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week just past, Professor Rawinia Higgins, chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission), discusses the current and future use of te reo Māori by New Zealanders:
Māori Language Moment - hundreds of thousands of people around the country celebrated Te Wiki of te Reo Māori, showing immense committment and passion for te reo Māori.
The most important objective of Te Taura Whiri - to ensure that te reo Māori is experienced across the country, in all sectors of the country - not just by Māori. Showing the value of the language and supporting speakers is part of this process.
The five aspects to language revitalisation - Status, Acquisition, Corpus, Critical Awareness, and Use. All aspects are important, but “Use” is probably the hardest, and requires a multi-pronged approach.
Listen to the interview or read the summary article at RNZ. (Note: interview starts in te reo Māori but continues in English.)