While in Asia and Europe there are plenty of mixes when it comes to languages. In one or two countries in Europe and Asia you could find quite a few different official languages being used in day to day life, official government papers and even taught at the same time in the classroom.
That is not even anything compared to what goes on in Africa. Loads of African countries speak many different languages.
For some New Zealand may just be about English, however the Maori heritage is really strong and respected here and the language has survived long periods of colonization on the online and making English the de facto language. Interested learners can explore Maori courses available locally.
All you have to do is look at the All Blacks and see how Maori culture is represented in New Zealand, then of course there is a large number of native Maori speakers and more that know how to speak a little bit.
While it is a small minority of people in New Zealand that know a bit of the Maori language, it shows its importance to the country and how more and more people to learn as much of the Maori language as possible.
Not only is learning Maori a benefit to the people of New Zealand as we keep this important culture and language alive that is native to New Zealand, learning Maori can help us all become better learners.
Learning languages not only means communication, it also means thinking, and problem solving amongst other things. There are loads of benefits to not only learning Maori but also learning Spanish, Chinese, French, or any other language you could possibly think of.
So why should you focus on Maori and language learning?
The benefits of learning Maori
With the whole of New Zealand being native English speakers you may be wondering why should I learn another language? You are in your right to think that, basically anywhere you go in the world you can get by even a little bit by speaking English.
However there are still many more reasons that you should learn a different language.
When we speak about the Maori language as a native New Zealander you should make an effort to learn the language up to a decent level. Not only is it interesting as a completely different language to English, it is an important historical and cultural part and foundation of New Zealand.
So what are some of the benefits of not only learning Maori but also other foreign languages?
Well there are benefits you probably haven't even thought about. Of course, there are some of the obvious ones like being able to communicate in a different language as well as learn a new skill but there are some cool reasons apart from those.
- Learn Maori culture
- Better Memory
- Better problem solving abilities
- More creativity
- Become bi or multilingual
While most of the benefits on this list can be of great help to you as a student, learning the Maori culture will be a huge help to New Zealand as we keep the Maori language and culture alive as well as you becoming a more well rounded person.
Is learning Maori difficult?
Some people will say that learning Maori is a difficult challenge. However that is maybe because they haven't actually tried to learn it.
Maori has been proclaimed by some as one of the easiest languages to learn in the world.
One of the main reasons for this is pronunciation. Once you get the hang of it the all of the Maori vocabulary becomes pretty easy to learn.
Ironically English can be a very difficult language to learn for those who speak languages like Spanish, who pronounce the letters the same way every time they say that particular letter. English however, has a constantly changing pronunciation.
The letter 'A', can sound completely different from one word to another for example.
While Maori is completely different to English and other European languages, it does have a more simple pronunciation, which makes some important parts of learning the language much easier to learn.
There are other parts of the language that are easy, however there are things that can make Maori really complicated to learn. It is a much different language to English after all.
Some tips for learning Maori include:
- Take your time
- Meet people who speak Maori or are learning Maori
- Practice pronunciation
- Challenge yourself
It is always a great idea to surround yourself with people that can speak the language you are trying to learn as well as those still learning, and of course try not to be embarrassed by any mistakes you make and practice every day.
Maori words used in English
The English language of course comes from England, quite a long ways away from New Zealand. England, the country where our language comes from is nearly 19 thousand kilometers away on the other side of the globe.
The British brought the English language to New Zealand when they colonised the islands towards the middle of the nineteenth century.
New Zealand would then change from colony to dominion after the end of World War II.
The British have left their legacy on the island as the majority of the citizens of New Zealand have English/British ancestry, however that hasn't taken away completely from the Maori culture.
Thanks to the survival of this beautiful culture we see Maori in our English everyday, New Zealand can boast that us Kiwis have respected Maori culture, at least nowadays, and try to have as many New Zealanders as possible learn the language.
A huge positive of this is that it makes the culture in New Zealand that much more unique when compared to other countries that were once former colonies. A huge part of the identity of the New Zealand community is tied in with Maori culture.
Australia and The United States cannot say the same about the native cultures and languages in those countries.
How long does it take to learn Maori?
Now that you have read about the difficulty of learning how to speak Maori and if you already know a bit of Maori thanks to your own native English from New Zealand, you may be wondering will it take a long time to learn the Maori language?
There are two things you must take into consideration if you are wondering just how long it will take you to learn te reo Maori.
- Everyone learns languages at a different pace
- It's best not to rush
You can read this blog and want a specific time period, that can be very hard to do. People learn at different rates when it comes to languages, they may have different resources available, some concepts of a language may be easier to grasp for one person than another.
It is important to remember that you may want to learn quickly but if you do that you may be learning in a way that you will be making more mistakes than not.
The Maori grammar is quite different and the pronunciation as well. However with a lot of practice and patience it is something that you can learn.
However, it will take more than just a few months to learn Maori, it is something that can take years to learn, and it's not something that can be rushed.
- Grammar
- Pronunciation
- Vocabulary
These are the most important parts of a language you have to learn, and because Maori is so different to English it can take a long time.
Somethings you can do to speed up that process include what was put earlier in the article:
- Practice everyday
- Speak as much as possible
- Study the grammar rules and pronunciation regularly
Studying Maori with a private tutor
Another way for you to make learning Maori both easier and faster for yourself is to seek some professional help.
While it was mentioned to meet people to practice Maori, whether in the form of a group that meets once a week, or make some friends that speak the language very well, working with someone who help teach and correct Maori professionally would be a great idea.
Having someone there to teach you and help you in areas will be key and you will learn the language better and faster.
Superprof is a platform where you can find Maori tutors. Additionally, if you prefer flexibility, you can opt for te reo Maori courses online.
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