A very important part of Māori culture is the Māori language — Te Reo Māori. New Zealand’s population as of 2017 is 4.75 million, with a high mixture of indigenous people and immigrants from the Pacific Islands, Asia and Europe who speak their own languages. One man's dream to have a reo Māori sign language interpreter on marae in the North is closer to becoming a reality. The History of the Māori Language. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language, with English being very dominant. Thankfully, this is gradually changing due to the work of passionate activists. Source: Stuff.co.nz For generations, Deaf New Zealanders were unable to access Te Reo Māori through New Zealand Sign Language. Māori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages in the country, which were declared in 1987 and 2006, respectively. The Māori language (Te Reo Māori) belongs to the Austronesian language family, and more specifically, in the Eastern Polynesian languages branch, to the Tahitic languages. The Māori language (Te Reo Māori) is cherished by the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori, as a treasure (taonga) and many Pākehā (non-Māori, non-polynesians) are now trying to learn it.Although it is an official language of New Zealand, along with English and Sign Language, few New Zealanders (and only a minority of Māori) can conduct a conversation in the Maori language. Eddie Hokianga (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahungunu) took action within his own rohe, Te Tai Tokerau, to establish a centre that aims to have Māori sign language interpreters on … Stephanie Awheto signs 'kia ora'. 4500+ multimedia, multilingual dictionary entries. Spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of New Zealand, where it is coofficial alongside English and New Zealand Sign Language, it counts about 148,000 speakers. Then in 2006, it took one further step to embrace diversity by adopting Sign Language as an official language as well. We are just revamping our website after a number of years, so bear with us as we recreate and reload content. New Zealand’s national anthem is usually sung in both Māori and English. A lot of government websites are presented in both Māori and English. Welcome to Māori Language.net. Study the basics of the Māori Language, through online video movie lessons. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to New Zealand Māori, but is a distinct language in its own right. Te Reo is an official language in New Zealand, along with English and New Zealand Sign Language. Sign language user Eric Matthews said there have been lots of experiences when he's gone to his local marae and found it "really tough". While there have been nationwide efforts to revive Te Reo Māori, a … Originally, Te Reo Māori was the only language spoken in the country by its native people. 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