maori in NZ

i had a really weird comment in class today.

background. i am pakeha but grew up in Taumarunui - high percentage of maori- grew up going to maraes, heaps of maori friends, i speak a wee bit. i thought everyone was like me.
DH is maori as are the kids.

In class we were reading Patricia Grace "it used to be green once" - bascially about a mum who is really "shaming" her kids - by being just a loving mum. they win money and they don't change but the kids do. very basic outline peoples.

Anyway, the kids were BUTCHERING the maori pronunciation (seriously "hurry my"). i said "you need to go and see Mr. N about having maori lessons" and they, as a class, said "what's the point?"
me:"we are new Zealanders and Maori is an important part of who we are as kiwis"
class:"they dont speak english properly so why should we learn their language that isn't even spoken anymore"
me:" because it is about respecting another culture, that as I said, is an important part of who we are"
class:"not who I am. None of my friends are maori, it's stupid. and anyway, this story is stupid"
me:"it's a neatstory"
class:"pretty unrealistic. maoris wouldn't win the money, they would just nick it"
Me:sdgfkjhfgkjhasdflgkjhsd - but as politely as possible.

i am dumbfounded that a LOT of kids could have that attitude in NZ.

am i the only one who feels that maori is important? and that we should all pronounce the lnaguage properlyand not think it's cool not to?

I think alot of PEOPLE have this attitude in NZ- my In Laws being a prime example. These kids are only saying what they hear at home and see in society as a whole.

I think its sad that if we lose the Maori culture then it is gone forever- I just can't see how we can avoid it when people associate the negative things that some people with Maori in them 'do' with the native culture of our country. Really they are 2 very separate things.

It irks me ( irks , now theres a cool word) when people pronounce some words deliberately wrong because the it might sound "rude " eg proper pronounciation of whakapapa for eg.
i believe a maori word should be spoken the maori way (that goes for all languages actually )

That is shocking. It makes me so angry that they reacted that way!!

I'm not Maori, in fact I'm as (physically) white as you can get, but I think the Maori culture is such an important part of being a NZer. As a teacher, I emphasise mainly the importance of respecting all cultures, and on pronunciating Maori correctly.

Last year I taught in a high decile predominately white school, and we had many lessons on how to pronounce NZ place names correctly. I was *so* proud when one of my kids told me she was going on holiday to Taupo and actually pronounced it correctly!! These kids had no idea at first. Not cos they didn't care (well, maybe they didn't but I was passionate about it and they were young enough that they want to please their teacher), but cos their parents were ignorant about that sort of thing.   I really really hate it when I watch/listen to news and they pronounce NZ place names incorrectly.

My DH is part Maori (just a little bit) and his family have many really close family friends who are Maori - aunties and uncles, but not blood if you know what I mean. One of them is Harry's koro and they have such a lovely relationship.   Harry's middle name Tikihana, is after a family friend of DHs who passed away a few years ago (it was his middle name). My point is.... my boy is a typical lil paheka boy with red hair, but Maori is part of his heritage and I actually consider it part of mine too. As New Zealanders, its a part of who we are, we are tied to our country and our land.

I just wish there was something we could do to change the attitude of these kids who have no idea.

My personal opinion is that NZ schools need to have more language options. That doesn't mean that kids should have to learn a specific language, or how to pronounce it even. You wouldn't be half as annoyed if they were butchering german or japanese pronounciation, would you? If they're not exposed to maori, then it's just not going to happen.

I don't like maori as a language, it's just not *me* I do like other languages more, german, russian, latin etc. On the other hand, I've always been very good with pronounciation, especially maori, so never ran into problems myself.

Maori is a dead language... it's not going to be useful outside of specific maori culture, and those of us who aren't maori and don't intend to work in it, it's probably one of the most useless languages you can learn! (next to maybe latin, but I'm a history buff so ) Purely from a sensible point of view, there's no reason they should have to learn it. They would be better off learning japanese/chinese for job oportunities/etc.

ETA: I have great reasons why I could be racist towards maoris if I wanted to, I've been bullied by a MUCH greater majority of maori's than other races in my time, and mostly over rumours which weren't true, or something like they didn't like the colour of my hair dye! (bright red was a target... didn't have that for long) I've had maori guys try to beat me up, and even had one throw a rock at my head. I have never ever had a male of another race do anything like that, females still rarer. BUT I am not racist, that's not who I am, and I have met a few nice maoris. I am also not about to bend over backwards to please them and their culture over others.

Edited by AliaDawn

AliaDawn wrote: Maori is a dead language... it's not going to be useful outside of specific maori culture, and those of us who aren't maori and don't intend to work in it, it's probably one of the most useless languages you can learn! .

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Maori is one of our official languages and is widely used. It is a beautiful language and one we hope our daughter learns.

I would consider it dead because it is solely used (as in only speak maori) by very few, if any... I didn't mean to offend people with that definition.

Edited by AliaDawn

I am not part of maori culture, but I am a new zealander... there is a difference, though alot of things overlap sometimes, I am happy for maori to have their culture, but I don't think it should be forced on others, like I don't believe religion or other things should be. As I said, I did not mean to offend, please don't take it that way.

Edited by AliaDawn

....me too....

I am sorry for speaking my mind, I didn't realise this post was only for people who agree 100% with the starting viewpoint... it seems I was mistaken. I don't mean people should be disrespectful of any culture, but it seems a little rough to judge kids on their progress in something they do not identify with, just like it would be for any language.