Developing a Māori language mathematics lexicon: challenges for corpus planning in indigenous language contexts

Tony Trinick · Stephen A. May

54 citations0/0 files storedCurrent Issues in Language Planning

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Multilingual Education and Policy Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies linguistics and terminology studies

Abstract

Over the last 25 years, there has been significant modernisation and elaboration of the Māori language mathematics lexicon and register to support the teaching of (Western) mathematics as a component of Māori-medium schooling. These developments are situated within the wider Māori language revitalisation movement in Aotearoa/New Zealand, of which Māori-medium education is a central component. A feature of the initial development of a Māori mathematics lexicon was the informal approach taken, involving elders, teachers and community working together to establish a corpus of appropriate terms, rather than any formal language planning approach. Subsequently, two state agencies, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) and the New Zealand Ministry of Education assumed a formal role in the standardisation and elaboration process. Due to limitations in resources and expertise, the Commission eventually withdrew from the process of developing the specialised lexicon for schooling and, in their absence, ongoing lexical development was entrusted to a group of Māori-medium mathematics educators (Te Ohu Pāngarau) and closely linked to the Ministry of Education's numeracy strategies. However, the process of linguistic modernisation of the Māori language to support the teaching of school subjects such as mathematics has since raised a number of conflicting tensions and linguistic issues, particularly among the older generation of Māori language speakers. This paper explores the process of development and the at-times conflicting linguistic ideologies which influenced the lexication and codification of the Māori-medium mathematics terminology. It also specifically examines the roles, policies and beliefs of the agents, including the two state agencies, involved in the process, charting the connections between micro, meso and macro language policy and practices in this context.

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References

1978Language as social semiotic : the social interpretation of language and meaning 1947Journal of the Polynesian Society 2006HANDBOOK OF RESEARCH IN SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING 1997Language Planning 1997Language Planning: From Practice to Theory 2001The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice 2008Language and minority rights: ethnicity, nationalism and the politics of language 2003Medium of instruction policies: which agenda? whose agenda?

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