3 May 2002
For immediate release

Māori most widely spoken second language

Recently released statistics tell us that Māori is the most widely spoken second language in the country.

“Our vision at Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) is for te reo Māori to be the primary language of our people so we are heartened by these statistics. We remain committed to helping whānau, iwi, communities, government and businesses decide how they can expand the use of Māori language,” says Te Taura Whiri Chief Executive Haami Piripi.

This data confirms the provisional results issued in December 2001,with more detailed information on regional Māori language demographics. This will particularly help inform decisions made on the allocation of community Māori language funding and resources.

“The information is useful for parents, iwi, researchers, students, teachers, government agencies in fact anyone who wants to find out where and to whom, te reo Māori is spoken, in homes and communities around the country.”

“We expect to see a paradigm shift which supports Mäori language use and a greater demand for Māori language services, including the use of translators and interpreters.

Check out the final report and the tables on the Health of the Māori Language Survey at our website www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz , or the Te Puni Kōkiri website at www.tpk.govt.nz  or directly from Statistics New Zealand www.stats.govt.nz  

Enz

For further information:

Haami Piripi 
Chief Executive
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori 
Phone 04 471 0244

Lana Simmons-Donaldson
Communications Advisor 
Phone: 04 4710244 
DDL: 04 471 6724
Mobile: 027 4574551
Fax: 04 471 2768
lana@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz 
www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz