Listen Now: 
The Māori language Commissioner says creating domains where people feel confident to use te reo Māori is an important part of language revitalisation.
It’s Māori language week, with this year’s theme about encouraging all New Zealanders to pronounce Māori names correctly
Erima Henare says the commission needs to promote that wider acceptance of te reo Māori, as well as supporting those making the effort to learn and speak it.
It can’t be a language of the classroom.
"It’s just too easy for children and families to learn te reo at school and then as soon as they get home they revert to English because TV is in English, Sky is in English, all those other media are primarily in English so the language isn't spoken. That's about the domain. The teaching is one thing but the use of it in the home, the Māori and other parts of community life is as important," Mr Henare says.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
