For Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022, we had a kōrero with some of our kaimahi who are on their te Reo Māori journey.
Ko Teresa tōku ingoa | My name is Teresa
Nō Ingarani me Airangi ōku tīpuna | My ancestors are from England and Ireland
Nō Paeroa ahau | I’m from Paeroa
Kei te noho au ki Tāmaki Makaurau | I live in Auckland.
“This year, I decided to learn te Reo Māori for a few different reasons. Firstly, I wanted to improve my pronunciation. Like anyone, I hate it when someone pronounces my name incorrectly, so I wanted to be more thoughtful about how I pronounce Māori kupu.
“Secondly, as a bit of a word nerd, I wanted to learn how to put sentences together correctly. I use te Reo phrases a lot in my job and wanted a better understanding of the grammar and sentence structure.
"I regret not having the opportunity to learn te Reo Māori in school. For me, learning te Reo Māori is about celebrating the language as a living, ever-evolving taonga. This is especially relevant as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Te Petihana Reo Māori this year.
“I really like the phrase he toki koe (sharp as an axe) which is used when you want to say how skilled and talented someone is. For example, '100% in your maths exam? He toki koe, e hoa!
"Starting to learn te Reo has given me the confidence to speak it much more and to ask questions when I don’t understand something. I’m looking forward to learning more!"
Teresa Curran, Communications Advisor – Digital and Online Engagement.
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