<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-03/maori-language-changes-nz-government-first-100-days/103425146>
'At the age of 66, Ihapera Kaihe sometimes calls on her young grandchildren to
translate Māori words into English.
Those moments are both a difficult reminder of the injustices of the past and a
glimmer of hope that maybe the future can be different.
Because when Ihapera was growing up, her parents were not allowed to speak
Māori.
She has memories of them keeping their te reo Māori a secret. And with only
English spoken at home and at school, her connection to her native language was
lost.
In the classroom, she endured years of those around her mispronouncing her
name. As she explains how that would come to impact her life, her voice starts
to break.
"I went through years of not being able to have it pronounced properly, and it
was the reason I named all my kids English names," she said.
"I never ever spoke reo because Mum and Dad weren't allowed to at all, and by
the time they brought it into my college … I'd finished school by then."
Ihapera named her children Natasha, Joseph and Ethan.
Natasha Diamond is now 40, but times have changed in New Zealand.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
