The push to formally declare English an official language of Aotearoa has reignited debate over why the country’s dominant language needs statutory protection when te reo Māori had to fight for generations simply to survive.
Professor Rawinia Higgins, chair of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori,in a recent interview said English has never faced the struggle for recognition experienced by te reo.
The debate follows legislation seeking to give English formal recognition as an official language alongside te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
While English is overwhelmingly the language used throughout government, Parliament, business, education and the courts, its status has largely existed through convention rather than specific legislation declaring it an official language.
Te reo Māori’s story is dramatically different.
Generations of Māori experienced policies and social pressure that pushed the language from classrooms and public institutions, contributing to a major decline in the number of fluent speakers.
That decline ultimately fuelled the Māori language movement, including the 1972 Māori language petition, the establishment of kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, and the campaign that resulted in te reo becoming an official language through the Māori Language Act 1987.
Higgins says putting English and te reo Māori on the same footing without recognising that history risks ignoring why statutory protection for Māori was necessary in the first place.
English has never needed legislation to guarantee its dominance.
For te reo Māori, legal recognition became part of a much wider battle to reverse language loss and protect a taonga guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Supporters of formal recognition for English argue legislation would simply acknowledge the reality that English is already the country’s most commonly spoken language and provide certainty about its status.
But critics question what practical problem the legislation is intended to solve when English already dominates almost every major institution in New Zealand.
The debate comes amid wider political arguments over the place of te reo Māori in public life, including the use of Māori names by government agencies and the visibility of te reo throughout the public sector.
Its task is helping ensure te reo Māori continues to grow as a living language spoken in homes, workplaces, schools, marae and communities.
English became dominant without needing to campaign for recognition.
Te reo Māori survived because generations of Māori refused to let it disappear.
And for language advocates, that history matters when Parliament considers whether two very different journeys should now be treated as though they were the same.
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