Learning Māori will hinder the ability of children to speakEnglish
It is possible -and indeed, common -for children to learn two languages simultaneously provided that adequate time and support is a available to the learners. It is also useful to remember that over half the people in the world - more than two billion people! - are bilingual.
Māori is an archaic language that can't cope with modern New Zealand life.
The Māori language, like all living languages, is constantly expanding and adding new words to its vocabulary. Recently, the Māori Language Commission published Te Matatiki, a dictionary of 5,500 contemporary Māori words, that cover everything from kitchen appliances to space exploration.
The Māori language is not useful in an economic sense
It is often said that speaking Māori won't get you a job! This is, in fact, not true. There is an increasing demand for people with high-level Māori language skills in a range of professions, including teaching, the civil service, the legal profession (especially through the Waitangi Tribunal), broadcasting, librarianship, and translation and interpretation. Furthermore, it seems likely that the demand for Māori speaking staff will continue to grow exponentially as the number of Māori speakers increases.
Māori is a dying language anyway, so why bother?
Māori is often referred to as a dying language, but this is a false description. In fact, the number of people that speak Māori is growing rapidly through the success of Māori language pre-schools and primary schools. The Māori Language Commission estimates that the current population of 130,000 Māori speakers will almost double in size in the next fifty years.
The language is being used in an increasing number of new domains, including television, science and the Internet.
But I don't want to be forced to speak Māori
The Māori language is not, and has never been, a compulsory subject at any level of the education system in New Zealand. The Māori Language Commission does not advocate compulsion, preferring instead to promote positive attitudes to the language and respect for individuals language choice.
But I don't know any Māori people (or there aren't many Māori in this area)
In a small island nation like New Zealand, we are all neighbours and we will come into contact with each other in many places, and we will interact in many ways. There are now also many new programmes on television and radio that can help promote and foster understanding of Māori language and culture.
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