May 17, 2022
Deaf looking for right reo sign
A Māori sign language advocate says progress is being made on formalising a Māori sign dialect.
Richard Peri, Deaf Aotearoa’s Māori development officer, has been facilitating hui and education programmes for tangata turi for decades.
Speaking to Radio Waatea through an interpreter, he said some of the work being done is replacing kupu that don’t reflect a Māori essence.
“We used to create signs for Māori terms or name places, so for example we would have things like Manu-cow, and that would be signed like the name for the physical cow, like the animal, rather than the meaning behind the te reo name for that place, so we’re started to develop meaning connecting the accurate name places and other things in te reo Māori,” he says.