Akina te reo — give te reo Maori a go — is the theme for this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Maori. To mark Maori Language Week, Northern Advocate reporter Mikaela Collins spoke to two Northland whanau who use te reo Maori every day. One uses te reo exclusively and the other is determined to gain fluency.
The Kaiwai whanau say the best way to learn te reo Maori is to give it a go - which is exactly what they have been doing.
The Whangarei-based family of four have a goal to eventually become fluent in te reo Maori and they are doing whatever they can to make it happen.
Toni Kaiwai does te reo classes once a week. Her husband Anaru Kaiwai does Mau Rakau (Maori weaponry) twice a week. Their son, Liam, 8, is in the bilingual class at Hora Hora Primary School, and the three of them, along with the couple's youngest son, Tomas, 7, all go to Waiata Joy song sessions at Pehiaweri Marae.
"We've always supported the idea of making it a part of everyday life. I think it started, as a family, about a year ago when Liam went into the bilingual class at school. He was very keen to learn Maori. We let him choose and it got to a stage where his language surpassed our knowledge, so we wanted to support him," Mrs Kaiwai said.