Every year since 1975 New Zealand has marked Māori Language Week - Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. This is a time to celebrate te reo Māori (the Māori language) and to use more Māori phrases in everyday life. In 2013 Māori Language Week is from 1–7 July, the theme is 'Ngā Ingoa Māori – Māori names' .
The Maori Language Act came into force, meaning that te reo Māori could now be used in some legal proceedings. The Act also established the Maori Language Commission.
Piripi Walker (right) and Tama Te Huki in the studio of the Wellington Māori language radio station, Te Upoko o Te Ika, on its first day of broadcast in 1987.
Waitangi Tribunal members Chief Judge Edward Durie (left) and Paul Temm QC visit a kōhanga reo at Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt, in 1985. Kōhanga reo or language 'nurseries' immersed infants in a Māori language environment; the first of these opened in 1982.
During the 1980 Maori Language Week a march was held to demand that the Maori language have equal status with English. Another seven years passed before it became an official language of New Zealand.
Missionary Thomas Kendall is painted with Waikato and Hongi Hika in London in 1820. In 1815 Kendall wrote the first book to be published in the Maori language.
Māori women have been the backbone of kōhanga reo (language 'nurseries' where pre-schoolers were immersed in the language) since the first opened in 1982. By July 2000 there were a total of 11,519 children attending 611 kōhanga reo.
100 Maori words for everyday usage. We have included individual sound files of spoken versions of all these words – just click on the word and it will be spoken!
