READERS REPORT (36) WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE IN NEW ZEALAND SPEAK MAORI?

'Why doesn’t everyone in New Zealand speak Maori?'

GERARD O'NEIL

COLIN SMITH/FAIRFAX NZ

If our identity as New Zealanders is so intertwined with the Maori culture, why isn’t Maori taught as a compulsory language in our schools, asks Gerard.

I used to subscribe to the theory that native English speakers did not need to learn a second language as English is the universal language.

When I began to travel off the beaten tourist track however, I soon discovered just how few of the world’s inhabitants in fact speak English.

To compensate for my lack of linguistic ability while travelling, I rely on my powers of observation. For example, when I was in China and needing to go to the bathroom I soon learnt that the Chinese symbol for “female” looks like a woman with her legs crossed 女 while that for “male”, looks like a man with a walking stick 男.

On my first day in Brazil, not knowing the difference between ele and ela, I chose the latter. I quickly learnt that ela means ladies, after being met by a combined shriek when I innocently sailed into the women’s bathroom.

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Sometimes the locals take advantage of your inability to understand their language.

On one of my travels I bought a t-shirt featuring some words in the local dialect. When I proudly began wearing my new shirt, I noticed that the locals seemed to be smiling far more than usual when I passed.

I only discovered the reason when a man took me aside and asked in broken English if I knew what was written on my t-shirt. When I replied I had no idea, he informed me that it said: "I am a stupid tourist!"

During my secondary school years I had little contact with other languages, as the learning of a second language was considered an activity for only the brightest of students. Being considered at the lower end of the intellectual scale, I was encouraged to study agriculture rather than Latin or French.

KIWI IDENTITY

My first real contact with a second language occurred when I left school to work in the public service in Wellington. There I shared an office with four others, including a second generation Samoan/ New Zealander.

She spent hours on the phone speaking in Samoan to her extended family, who had decided that at age of 31 it was time she got married and had kids. She kept us highly entertained by translating the marriage proposals she was receiving.

After a while, I got bored working in an office and soon found a job unloading fishing boats. The work was hard, the hours long, and the pay good, but the part I enjoyed the most was the interaction with my work colleagues, 85 per cent of whom were Maori. Everyone was “cuz” or “bro” and our day to day communication was sprinkled with lots of Maori words.

During this period, I had many invitations to tag along to huis and other Maori gatherings. This exposure to the Maori culture left me feeling much more comfortable in terms of how I related to my identity as a New Zealander, even though I have no Maori ancestry.

In 1992, I moved to Brazil, which meant I had to learn a second language. It was only when I became fluent in Portuguese that I discovered how limited English is as a vehicle to express one's emotions and complex ideas.

'SAD AND EMBARRASSED'

One of the interesting aspects of living outside New Zealand is that I have the opportunity to ask returning tourists what their lasting impressions of New Zealand are.

They invariably talk about some aspect of the Maori culture. If you ask them, in their opinion what is the dominant culture in New Zealand, almost everyone says the Maori culture.

Recently a haka performed at a wedding in New Zealand went viral, including in Brazil. The haka, with its spontaneity, its context, its power and its objective, all seemed to combine to show how different we are as New Zealanders.

It left me feeling emotional and proud of my New Zealand heritage but at the same time sad and embarrassed, as when my Brazilian friends asked me to translate the words I was unable to do so.

This left my friends perplexed and asking: "But doesn’t everyone in New Zealand speak Maori?"

If our identity as New Zealanders is so intertwined with the Maori culture, why isn’t Maori taught as a compulsory language in our schools? After all, Maori has been recognised as one of New Zealand’s official languages since 1987.

TO PRINT