KAPAI: Our evolving language becomes mainstream

When the word Remuera is mentioned in casual conversation the word rich seems to follow soon after, because rich is how we perceive the people who call Remuera their home.
When I asked a mate of mine who has a few quid in the kick and lives among the rich list of Ridings Rd in Remmers what the name Remuera meant _ he had no idea, just like most Kiwis who live in a Maori named suburb including many in Tauranga.
The look on his face when I told him it meant burnt bum was priceless but not as priceless as the piece of art created by Richard Murray, the maestro behind ArtReo, a new art genre teaching Te Reo via the medium of art, and launched in Tauranga last week to coincide with Te Reo week.
For the record Remuera was originally known as RemuWera, wera the Maori word meaning hot or burnt and it got its name from a famous Maori chieftainess who was burned alive for her beliefs.
So sticking to all things wera (hot) and not so wera here's a list on what was wera about Maori language week. Non-Maori mothers fronting up at our local kohanga reo regional fun day at Memorial Park last Monday. Tino pai (wonderful) Businesses taking on the theme of Maori language week and getting their staff on board with grass roots greeting in te reo under the tutoring of Maori word wizard Reweti Te MeteThe coverage by local and national media was tu meke (first class).
Listening to the living language of te reo Maori being spoken on television heralds to me a country that is culturally coming of age. There is no question we have turned a corner and it is now cool to korero (talk) Maori.
The very informative front-page story in this paper last Saturday said it all for learning the language from the place names of where we live Maori MPs from all parties celebrating te reo week by doing the haka on the steps of ParliamentHelen Clark doing the haka when she found out Rawiri Benson-Pope had been telling too many tito (porkies) 40 fine Te Puna tamariki, mostly non-Maori, but all of them young Kiwi Iconz, learning their first haka inside the wharenui of a local marae, to celebrate their country's cultureLocal diva Carol Storey singing waiata on her masterful Mokomoko album.
On the not so wera side of celebrating Maori language week the award has to go to a local columnist who suggests being greeted by kia ora is intrusive and infuriating and Mauao is a meaningless name and nothing more than a culturally sensitive label.
His Sideline side swipe to the tangata whenua of Te Puke as a place to vomit is racially reckless and cannot be excused because it is a hard word for tourists to pronounce.
There are many who like to have a bob each way when it comes to talking te reo Maori and for my two bobs' worth it is equally infuriating for Maori who have to bastardise the pronunciation of such a beautiful language to accommodate ignorant ears. These are the ears that refuse to recognise a bi-cultural relationship in this country.
Poor pronunciation is not an excuse but an opportunity to understand and learn a language, just as it is in Italy or France. Seventy-two per cent of the world can speak more than one language so why not us?
There are many Maunganui (big mountain) in this country, it was a title given by Europeans, but there is only one magical mountain called Mauao, which catches the light each morning and sends it to the safe harbour of Tauranga Moana below.
"Ko Mauao Toku Maunga" translated means "Mauao is our mountain" not Mount Maunganui and is part of our whakapapa for Maori of Tauranga back to day one of arrival over 600 years ago _ not just the last 20 years as suggested by the columnist.
Our main language is one of the youngest on the planet. It is only 200 years old and it is evolving. It is unique; it is richer than Remuera and is like no other, because it celebrates our bicultural heritage. And that is something we, as children of the long white cloud, can all celebrate together.
Pai marire tommy@indigenius.org