Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, or Maori Language Week, is an opportunity to encourage everyday use of te reo. There is a growing trend of new innovations coming through, in technology, fashion, design and food, to promote the use of the language every day.
1. FASHION / KAKAHU
ReoWay Clothing is an Auckland-based fashion label that was launched this week, as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori. It has a range of tops and T-shirts for men, women and children that have prints of Maori kupu, or words — such as Korero, Kia Ora, Aotearoa and Te Reo Maori. Reo Way’s goal is to promote the use of te reo Maori through fashion and design.
2. DESIGN / WHAKAAHUA
Taputapu Design is about creating contemporary Te Reo Maori homeware. It is the creation of Gisborne woman Nikki Kennedy, of Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki and Te Whakatohea, whose mission is to normalise, preserve and teach te reo Maori through design. These kitchenware containers are for huka (sugar), ti (tea) and kawhe (coffee).
To coincide with Te Wiki o te Reo Maori, digital services company Spark, Te Aka Maori Dictionary and Google launched ‘Kupu’, an interactive mobile app that helps people learn Te Reo Maori translations by exploring the objects around them.
Users simply take a picture, Kupu will then use image recognition to identify what the object is in the picture and provide Te Reo Maori translations for the object(s). Kupu is available for download free from the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store.
Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Maori — The Maori Language Commission has produced resources to help beginner speakers incorporate te reo into their everyday lives. One of its most popular resources, is ‘Korero Kawhe!’. This resource helps people to order a kawhe, or coffee, in te reo Maori.
