Language

Life as a Māori translator

"It must be translated with intention."

How learning te reo Māori helped me heal my mental health

“Last year, I started learning te reo Māori and my perspective on everything changed.”

Like many of our rangatahi, Katelyn Vaha’akolo struggled with her mental health as…

Judah, Tafara, and Pako: Not Your White Boy | Conversations With My Immigrant Parents

“Not getting a job doesn’t surprise me, I feel like racism plays a part in that. I’ve been looking for work for the last ten years,…

How the Kiwi accent evolved

Why exactly do we pronounce it like “fush and chups”?

Rediscovering Aotearoa: Reo | Language

Ngā Hinepūkōrero are a group of champion slam poets fluent in te reo. They meet Takunda Muzondiwa, who moved to Aotearoa from Zimbabwe as a child,…

Mahuru Māori - Fortnite

Learning languages can happen anywhere, even online! We chatted with Ross McDougall about his mission to get te reo Māori into the gaming world via Fortnite.

The art of reclamation

'Sticks and stones...' may be a nice sentiment but sometimes it's just not true. Now, from 'bitch' to 'queer' people are reclaiming these words, turning one…

Te reo classes are in massive demand

Te reo Māori is undergoing a learning boom. With thousands on waiting lists for kura across the country, how are we dealing with this amazing revitalisation?

The woman who fought to say 'kia ora'

In 1984 Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish was almost fired for saying 'kia ora'. We take a look at how her protest paved the way for Te…

Louisa is a hyper-polyglot

Speaking more than one language is impressive enough, now how about speaking six? Say hallo, bonjour, hola, zdravo to Louisa - a hyperpolyglot

Why is there so much English in K Pop?

The phenomenon that is K Pop is taking over global pop culture right now. But why are there so many random English lyrics?

The Decline of Indigenous Languages

Globalisation is taking its toll on precious indigenous languages. In the next century 50-90% of the world's languages will be lost, so can we fix this…

Learning a language with VR

Learning a second language is tough, but virtual reality is here to help out. The VR programme transports high schoolers around the globe to practise on…

Rangiora - the predominantly Pākehā town working to keep te reo Māori alive

According to the 2013 census, Rangiora is 92.7% Pākehā. Despite being one of NZ's whitest towns, they're taking amazing strides to preserve te reo and tikanga…

Alien Weaponry, the Waipu thrash metal band

Alien Weaponry are a thrash metal band with a difference: they don't just scream, they scream in Te Reo Māori.

Code-switching

"I was the only brown guy in my year".

Let's take a look at code-switching - a form of adaptation that occurs when an individual finds themselves…