Should te reo Maori be taught in New Zealand’s schools?

While most New Zealanders speak English, very few still use the traditional Maori language. Only around a quarter of the Maori can speak it fluently. Traditionally, “te reo Maori” was an oral language until 1814. From 1930 to 1960 there was a big linguistic decline, resulting in only 26% of the Maori who could still speak the traditional language.

One reason for this might be that immigrants from all over the world have influenced and ultimately modified the language. The colonisation by the British Crown has also changed New Zealand’s language even to this day. Even though English is a dominating world language, the Kiwis should not forget about their roots. Nowadays, it’s pretty common to learn more than one language at school, so why should anyone deny New Zealand’s population the chance to get more familiar with their cultural past? Being able to speak more than just one language offers you a lot of opportunities: When you go on holiday abroad, you will most likely be able to communicate with others depending on your linguistic skills. The more languages you can understand, the better you can communicate with others. You can explore culture from a different point of view and experience the country’s particular conventions much better.

I think it’s quite sad that the Maori language is seemingly declining. In my opinion, New Zealand should educate its population more in terms of the Maori culture. Maybe the government should also overthink the system and try to integrate New Zealand’s ancient culture more into everyday life. Especially schools should offer a possibility to learn more about the Maori culture including both language and history. After all, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to establish „te reo Maori“ as a compulsory subject at school.