Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Te Reo week should evolve, says Whangarei wananga tutor

By Lindy Laird
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
11 Sep, 2017 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Ross Smith, Maori culture adviser and te reo tutor

Ross Smith, Maori culture adviser and te reo tutor

When people describe Te Reo Maori as a 'living language' it does not mean it has been saved from obscurity - it means it lives within the customs and culture that gave birth to it.

Every minute, day and week of Ross Smith's life is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week, said the culture adviser and te reo teacher at Wananga o Aotearoa's Whangarei campus.

"My own view on the language is that it's not the beginning and end of the culture. It's part of the culture, but not all of it," Mr Smith said yesterday at the start of this year's Te Wiki o te Reo Maori.

Read more: Editorial: Maori Language Week - what has it achieved?
Whangarei team's te reo Maori app wins Maori Business Challenge

He believed there was a role for the language week but it needed to move forward or it would remain a token gesture.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Like all languages did over time, the intention of the week should not remain static but evolve, he said.

Having all New Zealanders dropping words like kia ora, aroha, mana and whenua, for example, into conversations might represent goodwill but did not offer understanding of the language or its roots.

"Words alone do not define a culture. No one is born speaking or understanding any language, but they are all born into a culture.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I teach the customs and riches of the culture. We ask 'why do we do these things, why does it matter?'

"Then people might decide to go to the language to understand what it was in the culture that resulted, for example, in part of this word and part of that being put together to mean something else," he said.

"Few words mean anything on their own, they need to be attached to a context."

Mr Smith said the drive to revive te reo was led by great Ngapuhi leaders who were scholars of the Maori and English languages, such as Sir James Henare and his son, former Maori Language Commissioner Erima Henare.

Discover more

Moko Tepania will speak only te reo during Far North District Council meeting deliberations

15 Sep 10:00 PM

Kaitaia to host te ao Māori podcast Taringa

01 Nov 04:00 PM

The Maori Language Commission set up Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in 1975 to celebrate the language as a unique cultural treasure for all New Zealanders.

Chief Executive Ngahiwi Apanui said the 2017 theme, Kia ora te reo Maori, was chosen to celebrate the well known greeting and because the words 'kia ora' reflected the intent of the partnership for te reo Maori revitalisation between the Crown and Maori.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Premium
Northern Advocate

'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

13 Jul 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Man jailed after forcing children to witness horrific animal cruelty

13 Jul 08:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs

13 Jul 04:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Premium
'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

'Ambulance at the bottom': Retailers criticise new shoplifting penalties

13 Jul 05:00 PM

Business owners aren't convinced instant fines are enough to curb shoplifting.

Man jailed after forcing children to witness horrific animal cruelty

Man jailed after forcing children to witness horrific animal cruelty

13 Jul 08:00 AM
Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs

Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs

13 Jul 04:00 AM
Kaipara Deputy Mayor loses another battle with FENZ in six-year employment dispute

Kaipara Deputy Mayor loses another battle with FENZ in six-year employment dispute

13 Jul 03:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP