At MFAT, if staff want to write a formal message to a Minister, they use a template. Until about a couple of weeks ago, that template told staff to use Māori words instead of some English words.
For example; summary, report, recommendations and conclusions.
But since around the time the special votes started coming in- and it was obvious Winston Peters would be a possibility for Foreign Minister, MFAT's chief executive has made the call to dump some of those Māori words and go back to the English words in the template.
It's pretty obvious that MFAT is doing this because because of the incoming Government.
MFAT brought the Māori words in apparently because the previous Labour Foreign Affairs Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, had told MFAT to use more Te Reo. But not all the parties in the incoming Government love the political use of Te Reo.
Personally, I've got no objection to the use of Te Reo. I learnt for years, I use it myself probably every day in some way.
But no one likes a greaser. And MFAT’s been busted greasing.
Happy to use Te Reo to make Nanaia happy, happy to dump it the minute it looks like Winston Peters, who loves the Queen’s English is back in the chair.
And this is probably a perfect example of exactly the reason so many people get frustrated by the use of Te Reo Māori in the media and in Government. Because it feels forced and hollow.
It feels like the guy on the news and the weather person and the public servant signing off with ngā mihi don’t actually really care about Te Reo, or use it that much themselves.
It feels like they're just saying it to signal that they're virtuous and acceptable- and MFAT has just been busted doing exactly that.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show.
10 comments:
Maybe because jo one speaks te reo so they would rather people can understand what they are reading. On the akl trains they do constant broadcasts in te reo that no one understands. Even some maori don't want to learn it. I think t's up to maori if they want to revive their own language.
Come on. Very, very few citizens are as smart as you. And they are not wordsmiths by trade. Contrived stone age derived, obsolete, te reo hobby language is not an intriguing fascination but a serious burden and complication in their lives. Of no more interst and use than Old English. Lets hope all the other govt agencies exercise similar initiative.
And. HdPA, you are only part correct when you state nobody likes a greaser. Maori feign a like for non maori fawners but drop them like a stone when cease to be useful. I would watch my ratings if I were you.when
Perhaps we are all sick of having to pretend to be Maori. It's not greasing.
The real thick grease was applied to the Public Interest Journalism Fund. In the application form it had to be agreed to promote all things Maori and the contract made it binding. That's grease Heather!
MC
"I am not deaf nor am I Māori, so I do not use sign language or Maori language."
Similarly, I am not Chinese, so I do not speak Mandarin, and I am not blind, so I do not use Braille.
I use English.
If a person is blind, deaf, Maori or Chinese, I totally respect them using their choice of language.
All I ask in return is that MY choice of language be respected also
I have asked many times what are the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and have never received an answer. How can you have a partnership when we are one people? No answer on that either! If the last governments financial experts do not know that two into one will not go how did they manage the nation's finances? It is now time to abolish the racist Waitangi Tribunal.
Kevan
good one! i wish most of academia follows suit...
next in the list of fixes:
a. AT bus announcements
b. Govt department names
c. Any document put out for public
interesting to note that none of the customs forms on arrival are in maori. isn't it racist to assume the iwi leaders can't afford to travel back into the country?
100 percent of Kiwis speak English, including all Maori while 2.6% of Kiwis are fluent in Maori
The rest of us turn the page or switch the TV off when Maori is substituted for English. It's as simple as that.
Neil Harrap
Heather. Who cares whether or not you can speak some Maori. The point is that most of us don’t and because we are not Maori don’t want to.
English is a wonderful language used and admired by tens of millions all over the world. "Maori" is a contrived non-language ( much being English words in flax skirts) spoken by a very few people in these remote islands only.I have no objection to others using it as long as I am not expected to use it. It irks me to see children being used as a captive audience and having it jammed down their unsuspecting throats. As for govt.depts naming themselves and using it in communications! What sort of brain-dead administrators though that up?
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