New Zealanders' attitudes to the revitalisation of the Maori language

Abstract

While Maori language revitalisation efforts intensified in the 1970s, and achievements to date seem impressive, by the end of the 1980s there were probably 10,000 fewer fluent speakers of Maori than at the end of the previous decade. With many fluent Maori speakers aged over 55, further promotion of the Maori language is essential and urgent if Maori is not to remain as an endangered language. This paper reports the results of a nationwide mail survey of 225 New Zealand adults' opinions about the Maori language's role in contemporary society and the extent to which New Zealanders will commit themselves to fostering the language. While two thirds of respondents felt the language had a place in New Zealand society, only one quarter of the sample indicated that the language should be used to a greater extent than now. Bilingualism in Government agencies, bilingual signs and bilingual product labelling received minimal support. However, Maori respondents, younger people and women favoured bilingualism more than their European, older and male counterparts. The paper confirms the claims of Spolsky (1989) that the basis exists for revitalisation of the Maori language. It also draws upon the marketing paradigm (Cooper, 1985) for promoting the use of Maori language in the home, in the neighbourhood, in the community and beyond (cf. Fishman, 1990).

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