It’s Tongan Language Week and the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, says it’s Malo e Lelei.
He says Pacific peoples should take a lesson from Māori in how to protect traditional languages.
“Māori are saying explicitly on the marae no pakeha language, just Māori or indigenous language and I think sometimes we’re so generous in our spirit of being respectful and mindful of people who don’t understand our language and don’t speak the language of the heavens that we end up speaking English for their sake,” Mr Sio says.
