I ētahi wā, ka whakaaro tātou me tino matatau rawa te tangata i mua i tana kōrero. Ka tatari kia tika katoa ngā kupu, kia mārama katoa ngā rerenga, kia kore rawa he hapa. Engari, i taua tatari, ka noho puku te reo. Ka noho te hiahia ki roto i te ngākau, kāore e puta ki te tēpu kai, ki te kura, ki te whare pukapuka, ki te mahi, ki te ara hoki.
Ko te mea nui, ehara te reo i te whakamātautau anake. He ara hono. He ara manaaki. He ara e kī atu ai tātou, “kei konei ahau, kei te whakarongo ahau, kei te ako tonu ahau.” Ahakoa he reo Māori, he reo Kiribati, he gagana Sāmoa, he lea faka-Tonga, he gagana Tokelau, he reo Kuki Airani, he reo Niue, he reo Fiti, he reo Rotuma rānei, ka tīmata te oranga o te reo i ngā wā iti o ia rā.
Te kaha o te kupu kotahi
He kupu kotahi pea te tīmatanga. “Kia ora.” “Haere mai.” “Kai.” “Āe.” “Whakarongo.” “Moe.” “Aroha.” Kāore pea e ranea mō tētahi whaikōrero roa, engari he tīmatanga tūturu. Ka rongo te tamaiti i taua kupu i ia rā, ka mōhio ia he wāhi tō taua reo i tōna kāinga. Ka rongo te kaumātua, te matua, te hoa mahi rānei, ka mōhio ia kāore te reo i te noho ki te pukapuka anake.
I roto i ngā Wiki o ngā Reo o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, ka kitea tēnei āhuatanga. Ka tū ngā kura, ngā whare pukapuka, ngā rōpū hapori me ngā whānau ki te whakanui i te reo. Engari kāore te wiki kotahi e taea te kawe i te reo mō te tau katoa. Ko te wiki he rama. Mā ngā rā katoa e pupuri te ahi.
Kaua e whakamā ki te ako
He maha ngā tāngata e whakamā ana. Ka mataku kei hē te whakahua. Ka mataku kei kata mai tētahi. Ka mataku kei kīia, “kāore koe i te tino mōhio.” Ko tēnei whakamā he taiepa nui. Engari, me maumahara tātou: kāore he tangata i whānau mai me te katoa o ngā kupu i roto i tōna waha. Ka tipu te reo mā te whakarongo, mā te hapa, mā te whakatika, mā te ngana anō.
Mēnā he tangata koe e ako ana i te reo Māori, tīmata ki ngā wā e taea ana e koe. Tuhia he kupu ki runga i tētahi kāri kāore he whakapaipai nui. Kōrerotia taua kupu i te ata. Whakarongo ki tētahi waiata, ki tētahi pāhotanga reo, ki tētahi kaiako. Pātai atu ki te tangata e mōhio ana, “me pēhea te kī tika?” Mā te pātai māhaki e puāwai ai te ako.
Te reo i te kāinga
Ko te kāinga tētahi wāhi tino nui mō te reo. Kāore e hiahiatia he akomanga nui i ngā wā katoa. Ka taea te tīmata i te wā tunu kai: ingoa mō ngā kai, mō ngā taputapu, mō ngā mahi. Ka taea i te wā horoi rīhi: “homai,” “tangohia,” “horoi,” “maroke.” Ka taea i mua i te moe: tētahi rerenga poto, tētahi mihi, tētahi kōrero mō te rā.
Ki ngā whānau maha o Aotearoa, he nui ngā reo i te whare kotahi. He reo Māori pea, he reo Pākehā, he reo Hainamana, he reo Pasefika, he reo nō tētahi atu whenua. Ehara tērā i te raruraru. He taonga. Ka ako te tamaiti he maha ngā ara hei kī i te aroha, hei tono āwhina, hei mihi, hei whakakata. Ka whānui ake tōna ao.
Te reo me te manaakitanga
Me mātua noho te manaakitanga ki roto i te ako reo. Ki te hē te tangata, kaua e patu ki te kupu koi. Āwhinatia. Whakatikahia mā te ngawari. Ki te ngana te tangata ki te kōrero, ahakoa he poto, āta whakarongo. Ko te whāinga ehara i te tino pai i te rā tuatahi. Ko te whāinga kia hoki mai anō ia āpōpō.
He nui hoki te mahi a ngā whare pukapuka, ngā kura, ngā marae, ngā whare karakia me ngā rōpū hapori. Ka taea e rātou te hanga wāhi haumaru mō te ako. He tēpu kōrero. He rōpū pānui. He haora waiata. He akoranga mō ngā mātua me ngā tamariki. I aua wāhi, ka kitea te reo hei mea ora, ehara i te kaupapa taumaha noa iho.
He whakaaro mō tēnei wiki
Tīpakohia kia toru ngā kupu mō tēnei wiki. Me māmā, me whai pānga ki tō oranga. Whakamahia aua kupu i ia rā. Tuhia ki tētahi pukapuka iti. Kōrero ki tētahi hoa. Whakarongo ki te whakahua tika. I te mutunga o te wiki, tīpakohia anō kia toru. He iti te mahi, engari ka roa te wā, ka nui te hua.
Mehemea kei te whakanui tō hapori i tētahi reo o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, haere atu ki te tautoko. Kāore koe e mate ki te mōhio ki ngā mea katoa. Ka taea te noho hei manuhiri whakaute, hei hoa ako, hei tangata whakarongo. Ko te reo o tētahi hapori he wāhanga o tōna ngākau. Mā te whakarongo e tipu ai te whakaute.
Te whakakapi
Kia māia ki te reo. Ehara te māia i te kore hapa. Ko te māia, ko te kōrero ahakoa he iti, ko te hoki anō ahakoa i uaua inanahi, ko te whiriwhiri kia kaua te reo e noho puku. He kupu iti pea tāu i tēnei rā. Engari i roto i taua kupu, he hononga ki te whānau, ki te whenua, ki te hapori, ki ngā whakatupuranga kei te heke mai.
Source note: This reflective article was informed by public information about Pacific Language Weeks and community language learning resources such as Te Ataarangi.
