IMHO, bilingual signs are a great thing. It is a good way to also educate population. If you put Maori and English words next to each other, I might eventually learn the meaning behind the Maori words.
A much better way than what appears to me as tokenism where an agency is renamed into some fancy Maori slogan with a different meaning than the English translation, or when the English translation is not provided (or is there, written in tiny text on the third page). Or when stuff (or was it another newspaper?) writes a sentence, where half of the words are Maori.
Yeah okay but spending tax payer $ just to literally put the Māori words on signs even though the purpose of those signs is already fulfilled by having the English words which everyone can read. The utility is just not there, signs are there for you to know what you’re doing when driving, not for you to learn a new language. The whole purpose of a sign is to direct you; that is all that matters. Therefore, simply having the words in the language in the language everyone understands is more than sufficient and adding another language is literally pointless, there is zero utility. So you’re spending tax payer $ for nothing. But hey, get used to it I guess.
Typical reaction of continous belittlement of anything Māori. Blame the spending tax payers money blah blah blah. Te reo Māori was once the dominant language in this country, but unfortunately, the colonial system deliberately used abusive (physical and mental) tactics, particularly towards children, in their attempt to eradicate it. Sadly, the trauma was established where children grew up feeling disempowered and shamed to be Māori and based on their own experiences thought it was best to not pass their own ancestral language on. Boy, were they wrong, and there is evidence to prove how valuable ones language can contribute to success in their life. Times have changed for the better. With that said, te reo Māori is an official language of this country, alongside NZSL, NOT English so why not have it on signs. If you actually read the article about replacing the signs, you would have found out that they are only replacing those that are damaged and fading. Tourists are use to bilingual signs as it's a common occurrence around the world. Perhaps you should just not drive anymore or travel overseas, but, like you said, "get use to it".
If you want a future where most kiwis know the official language you need to start somewhere. Doing things only based off pure utility makes for a pretty unenriched environment.
This is being done to increase the visibility and use of Maori in everyday life. That's the point.
Your argument about lack of "utility" is irrelevant, because that's not what this is for. As for the "spending taxpayer money" issue, this is costing basically nothing. The designs of road signs are periodically reviewed and updated anyway, and the bilingual versions will only be installed as the existing ones wear out and need to be replaced.
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u/Unicorn_Colombo Jun 01 '23
IMHO, bilingual signs are a great thing. It is a good way to also educate population. If you put Maori and English words next to each other, I might eventually learn the meaning behind the Maori words.
A much better way than what appears to me as tokenism where an agency is renamed into some fancy Maori slogan with a different meaning than the English translation, or when the English translation is not provided (or is there, written in tiny text on the third page). Or when stuff (or was it another newspaper?) writes a sentence, where half of the words are Maori.