Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

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 / Northland Age

NZME embraces Te Wiki o Te Reo

NZ Herald
6 Sep, 2018 05:00 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

A light-hearted look at the importance of correct Maori pronunciation. #YOUREBETTERTHANTHAT

Pronunciation woes, the silent language of eyebrows and the politics of dialects are all tackled in a light-hearted NZME video series for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

The videos are part of NZME's Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) campaign, celebrated across all of its platforms.

In previous years the company has translated the mastheads of its newspapers, including the Herald to Te Hērora o Aotearoa, and published articles with Māori translations.

This year radio brands ZM, The Hits and Flava have all got on board by rebranding their logos with te reo translations and producing specialist video content.

Read more: Opinion: Māori Language Week a good way to start te reo journey
Te Reo strategy to be launched in Whakatāne

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Producers Moehau Hodges-Tai and Allan George have led the charge.

"The overall goal is to bring awareness to Māori culture on a mainstream platform," Hodges-Tai said.

"Growing up speaking te reo as a child through kura kaupapa, I have been fortunate enough to see what a world could look like with everyone being able to speak the language."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The pair wanted to use humour and tikanga to break down any stigma.

"It is about changing minds and slowly educating our whānau and hoa (friends)."

Several videos highlight the more comical side of learning te reo in Aotearoa.

One tackles the touchy subject of pronunciation, and how/how not to approach someone who is struggling to roll their r's.

Another video looks at the "silent" Māori language, using only eyebrows.

"Māori culture is beautiful, yet funny," George said.

"Having come from a family of fluent speakers, steeped in the culture, and currently learning the language myself, I wanted to create some video content that speaks to Māori and non-Māori.

"The videos are somewhat heightened reality, but are true to Māori and New Zealand culture."

The Herald is running a series of articles around the theme: "So you want to learn te reo?", diving into the massive increase in beginner speakers across the country.

Topics cover the sometimes emotional challenges of Māori learning their reo, an in-depth interview with a fluent Pākehā speaker, and new arrivals to Aotearoa and how eager they are to learn the native language of their new home.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Photo / 123RF
Photo / 123RF

Māori affairs reporter Michael Neilson is also setting himself a challenge for the week to incorporate te reo into every conversation he has.

He will be blogging about the daily experiences for both the website and in print.

The Herald has changed its masthead to Te Hērora o Aotearoa for the week

NZME's regional papers have also come on baord, with the Northern Advocate becoming Te Māngai ki te Raki, Northern Age to Te Kōtiu, Rotorua Daily Post to Te Māngai Nui, Bay of Plenty Times to Te Waiariki and Hawke's Bay Today to Te Matau-a-Māui.

The Wanganui Chronicle has also permanently added the 'h' to become the Whanganui Chronicle, reflecting both the name of the region and the correct Māori spelling.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Leading by example: Northland farmer honoured for transformative work

09 Jun 02:29 AM
Northland Age

Kerikeri's push to be Far North's first bilingual town gains momentum

09 Jun 12:00 AM
Northland Age

Thousands of school meals uneaten in Northland every week

07 Jun 05:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Leading by example: Northland farmer honoured for transformative work

Leading by example: Northland farmer honoured for transformative work

09 Jun 02:29 AM

Coby Warmington won the 2025 Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award.

Kerikeri's push to be Far North's first bilingual town gains momentum

Kerikeri's push to be Far North's first bilingual town gains momentum

09 Jun 12:00 AM
Thousands of school meals uneaten in Northland every week

Thousands of school meals uneaten in Northland every week

07 Jun 05:00 PM
Luxury resort trial ends as ex-manager defends actions in court

Luxury resort trial ends as ex-manager defends actions in court

07 Jun 03:00 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

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 Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP