Editorial: Te reo week to celebrate national culture

I cannot speak te reo Maori apart from standard greetings like Kia Ora, but I do respect the language as being a vital part of New Zealand's culture and history.

I come from a country that has 11 official languages and all have played a part in making the country the vibrant rainbow nation it is today.

This week is Maori Language Week and it is a time for all New Zealanders to celebrate our diversity as a nation.

For this reason, as in past years, Hawke's Bay Today has changed its masthead to acknowledge the week. We are running a strap across the top of the page with the phrase Pa Mai to Reo.

This is the Maori title given to the newspaper by Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated and its chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana at the launch of our new compact version at the beginning of the year.

We were honoured to receive this title, which is derived from the opening line of song composed in Hastings for soldiers going off to World War II. The line "Pa Mai to Reo Aroha ki Te Pa o Heretaunga" means "The voices of love are calling out from the people of Heretaunga."

As explained to me by Ngahiwi Tomoana, Pa Mai to Reo in today's context can mean "Touch me with your words" or "Speak to Me" or more poetically "Lavish me with Language" or in common use "Let's Talk!".

Given that we are a newspaper and our currency is communication, I would say that is an apt title to have.

Being able to greet people and converse with them in another language is a wonderful resource to have. It does not matter who we are - pakeha or Maori - a little knowledge of a language brings a lot of understanding of a culture.