As Aotearoa celebrates Te Wiki o te Reo Māori under the kaupapa Ake, Ake, Ake: A Forever Language, author Kylie Reiri says one of the greatest investments whānau can make in the future of te reo is helping tamariki grow up surrounded by it.
For Reiri, giving children access to te reo Māori is about much more than learning another language.
It strengthens identity, belonging and connections to whakapapa, while helping create another generation for whom te reo Māori is a normal and living part of everyday life.
And as Māori Language Week celebrates how far the revitalisation movement has come, her message points towards the challenge ahead — ensuring te reo doesn’t simply survive, but continues naturally from one generation to the next.
Ake, Ake, Ake — beyond one week
The kaupapa Ake, Ake, Ake carries a powerful ambition.
Te reo Māori should not be viewed as something belonging primarily to history, formal occasions or one designated week in September.
A forever language needs speakers tomorrow, next year and generations from now.
That makes tamariki central to the future of the reo.
When children hear and use Māori at home, at kura, in books, waiata and conversations with their whānau, the language becomes part of the environment in which they understand themselves and the world around them.
For whānau, that can begin with small things.
A kupu.
A children’s book.
A waiata.
A karakia.
A conversation around the dinner table.
Over time, those everyday moments can become the foundation of intergenerational language transmission.
Language carries identity
Reiri’s kaupapa also highlights the relationship between language and identity.
For Māori, te reo carries whakapapa, tikanga, histories and ways of understanding the world that cannot always be completely translated into English.
Learning the reo can therefore help tamariki understand not only how to speak, but where they belong.
It provides another pathway into connections with whānau, hapū, iwi and tūpuna.
That sense of belonging matters.
Language revitalisation is not simply about increasing the number of people capable of speaking Māori. It is also about strengthening the cultural foundations available to future generations.
Whānau don’t have to wait for fluency
For many parents and grandparents, however, encouraging tamariki to speak te reo can bring another challenge.
Not every Māori adult grew up with the language themselves.
Generations experienced the consequences of language loss, leaving many whānau wanting te reo for their children while still learning it themselves.
That should not become a barrier.
Parents do not have to wait until they are fluent before creating space for te reo in their homes.
Learning alongside tamariki can itself become part of the revitalisation journey.
Children’s books and resources can be particularly powerful because they give adults and tamariki opportunities to discover kupu, pronunciation, stories and concepts together.
In that sense, a resource created for a child can sometimes help reconnect an entire whānau.
From survival to transmission
The history of te reo Māori revitalisation demonstrates why intergenerational transmission is so important.
Earlier generations fought to prevent the language from disappearing after decades in which assimilation and English-dominated institutions contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of Māori speakers.
The Māori Language Petition, Ngā Tamatoa, kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori, Māori broadcasting and generations of teachers, activists and whānau helped change that trajectory.
Today’s tamariki inherit the results of those struggles.
But revitalisation cannot depend permanently on campaigns to rescue the language.
The long-term goal is something much more powerful — making transmission from one generation to another ordinary again.
A language becomes truly secure when children grow up expecting to hear it, speak it and eventually pass it to their own tamariki.
Books can open another doorway
Authors such as Reiri also play an important role in building that environment.
Children need to see themselves reflected in the stories surrounding them.
Books can introduce language while also reinforcing Māori names, characters, values, experiences and ways of seeing the world.
For tamariki Māori, that representation can help affirm that their language and culture belong not at the margins of Aotearoa, but at its heart.
For non-Māori children, greater exposure to te reo and Māori stories can also contribute to a country where the Indigenous language is increasingly understood, respected and used.
That makes children’s literature part of the wider language ecosystem alongside homes, kura, marae, broadcasting and communities.
The future of Aotearoa is being spoken now
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori provides an annual moment for the country to celebrate the language.
But Ake, Ake, Ake demands something beyond celebration.
A forever language requires commitment beyond September.
It requires opportunities for people to learn.
It requires resources for teachers and whānau.
It requires Māori-medium education and fluent speakers.
And most importantly, it requires another generation of tamariki who grow up believing te reo Māori belongs naturally in their lives.
That is why Reiri’s message is ultimately one of investment.
Investing in a child’s reo is an investment whose return may be measured over generations — in identity, confidence, whakapapa and belonging.
Because the future of te reo Māori will not ultimately be decided by how loudly Aotearoa celebrates it for one week.
It will be decided by whether today’s tamariki are still speaking it to their mokopuna decades from now.
#TeWikiOTeReoMāori #AkeAkeAke #AForeverLanguage #KylieReiri #TeReoMāori #TamarikiMāori #Mokopuna #Whānau #Whakapapa #MātaurangaMāori #ReoMāori #MāoriLanguage #LanguageRevitalisation #IndigenousLanguage #KōhangaReo #KuraKaupapaMāori #MāoriEducation #ManaMotuhake #TinoRangatiratanga #TeAoMāori #Aotearoa #WaateaNews #RadioWaatea
