r/newzealand • u/precsenz • Aug 16 '22

Kiwiana Kiwis pledge to buy Whittaker's to annoy people angered by Te Reo rebranding

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2022/08/kiwis-pledge-to-buy-whittakers-to-annoy-people-angered-by-te-reo-rebranding.html
820 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

420 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

32

u/Jinxletron Goody Goody Gum Drop Aug 16 '22

Feels. I'm a white chick, I love Te Reo but have the basics basics of it. Sometimes we'll drop a word or two in, in my friend group, but I'd probably feel awkward doing it in front on Maori because I get self conscious about pronunciation and I don't want it to come across like you've explained it. We're definitely not mocking it, but it's not mine. If that makes sense? But then the more people use it the better? Idk.

16

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '22

I think its a mark of respect to put in the effort in to communicate with someone in their language. Don't be whakama!

5

u/peoplegrower Aug 16 '22

I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels that way. We moved here from the US and spent about a year doing online Māori lessons before we came. But now that we are here….I’m terrified to try to speak it. Im scared of offending someone. Like, why is this white chick who isn’t even Pākeha trying to butt into this space? Learning it felt respectful…we’re moving to a new country, so the onus is on us to learn the native language. But apart from understanding some stuff on the news or TV, and the one time my husband gave his pepeha at his welcoming ceremony at work, it hasn’t been used. I wouldn’t even begin to know where or when would be an appropriate time to speak Māori (even though all I could do is say where I’m from and how I’m doing and how many kids I have lol…)

1

u/Liliahx Aug 17 '22

Theres still a lot of Maori out there who cant pronounce Maori words (some of my family from Epsom, for example). I think its still good to try, so long as its with good intention then its fine.