Maori Language Clubs?

Te Ao Hou, 1973, Page 37

Maori Language Clubs? Friends! A few thoughts about how to retain the Maori language. There are still quite enough people who can fully express themselves in Maori for it to be saved as a living language. The difficulty is how to pass it on to younger generations, to stop the gap getting any wider between the older people who are able to speak Maori and the young people who are not able. The language of everyday life is English, a language used by millions of people of many races. Small children cannot learn Maori from hearing it spoken at home as in former times, and to wait till they are old enough to study it from books at school makes it almost as hard to learn as a ‘foreign’ language and certainly no easier for a Maori than for anyone else. The language of the marae is a special form of Maori; you could say it was a language within a language, full of reference to history of the tribe, ancestors, old songs and poetry, and proverbs rich in meaning for one whose understanding of Maori is already advanced, but could we expect a young person whose only working language is English to follow this high quality oratory? Those of us with some knowledge of the Maori language have a duty to pass on what we can to others who have a most natural wish to learn, and who should not be discouraged. A suggestion is for small groups to form ‘Maori Language Clubs’ the object of which would be to encourage a greater general use of the Maori language, to improve the quality

of spoken Maori, to practise your own Maori, and to help others to learn. Young people ask their elders for help and in many cases the elders are willing to give it, but to find some time, or plan some method, that is the difficulty. If small groups around the districts, of people already fluent and others wishing to learn were persistently to meet for two hours each week, knowing that as far as was practical only Maori would be spoken, then an opportunity, which does not exist at present, would be available to those trying to learn the language. A young person, or hesitant speaker, would not feel silly to make any mistakes with just a group of friends. An older person would not need to be able to ‘teach’ or ‘explain’ Maori to others; a good knowledge of spoken Maori, a patience to repeat, a sympathy to listen is what would be necessary. A learner could test his pronunciation, and his ability to express himself, if he had someone to speak to who could say at once if he was right or wrong, and make suitable replies. Clubs of this sort already exist in New Zealand to give practice in the speaking of certain foreign languages but it does not seem to have been recognized that the same methods would be equally beneficial for the preservation of Maori, which is socially much more important to us. You may well ask ‘What of the evening classes at schools, and the many Maori culture groups around the country?’ Evening classes and University extension courses are very good indeed and are probably the best way to give a good start to someone with little or no knowledge of Maori, but, apart from usually being directed towards some examination, they are a bit more in line with the Pakeha way of doing things and a big percentage of the people who enrol for these classes are Pakeha. Perhaps Maoris may like to feel that they have learned their language from their elders and kinsmen. Maori culture groups, when we think of it, do not really stress the Maori language as a means of communication, a means of expressing our thoughts easily and precisely. They do not pretend to do so; they have other objectives very worth while in themselves. Yet strange to say it is possible to learn to sing the waiata, even the real old ones in ‘Nga Moteatea’, and not be able to converse fluently in Maori. It is possible to memorize a song without a knowledge of Maori, but it is not possible to compose one. Many Maori people feel strongly that their language should be retained. Yet it must be faced that to learn a language at any but a very early age is a very difficult accomplishment, requiring greater single-mindedness than most of us possess. The forming of ‘Maori Language Clubs’ by the keenest, young or old, might partly provide a ‘self-help’ answer to the problem. John Foster, Rotorua