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<h1>Wellington City council consulting with community to create te reo Māori policy
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<span>COLLETTE DEVLIN</span>
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Last updated 13:37, February 5 2018</span>
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<img alt="Wellington’s Whairepo Lagoon was officially renamed by the New Zealand Geographic Board in December 2015 - but is still ..." title="" src="https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/f/p/v/e/6/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1o8kg9.png/1517791054223.jpg" class="gmail-photoborder">
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<p>Wellington’s Whairepo Lagoon was officially renamed by the
New Zealand Geographic Board in December 2015 - but is still referred to
as Franks Kitts Lagoon. </p>
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<p>Bilingual signs could be on the horizon in Wellington as the city looks set to become New Zealand's te reo Māori capital.</p><p>Wellington
City Council has set the goal to ensure the language is "included and
prioritised" in the city, so is taking the first step by creating a
draft policy.</p><p>A public <a href="https://wellington.govt.nz/have-your-say/public-inputs/consultations/open/draft-te-reo-policy">consultation </a>for
the draft, Te Tauihu – Te Kaupapa Here Hukihuki Te Reo Māori, asks
Wellingtonians for ideas on how the council can celebrate the language.</p>
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<img alt="To help promote Whairepo Lagoon's Māori name, the council will decorate the surrounding area with chalk Whairepo - the ..." title="" src="https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/o/8/l/9/j/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1o8kg9.png/1517791054223.jpg" class="gmail-photoborder">
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<p>To help promote Whairepo Lagoon's Māori name, the council
will decorate the surrounding area with chalk Whairepo - the eagle rays
that swim in the lagoon in the warmer months.</p>
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<p>The feedback will form the basis of an action plan for the city.</p><p><strong>READ MORE:<br> * <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/68936868/Frank-Kitts-Lagoon-may-be-about-to-become-Whairepo-Lagoon">Frank Kitts Lagoon to become Whairepo Lagoon</a><br> * <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/101075769/corporate-world-enticing-te-reo-mori-educators-away-from-classroom">Corporates enticing te reo Māori educators away from classroom</a><br> * <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99662946/Massive-upsurge-in-white-New-Zealand-wanting-to-learn-te-reo?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">Massive upsurge in white New Zealand wanting to learn te reo</a> <br> * <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/100631948/academic-says-te-reo-on-life-support-bill-english-says-its-not-up-to-govt-to-save-someone-elses-language">Bill English says not up to govt to save 'someone else's language'</a><br> * <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/maori-language-week/99472015/don-brash-clashes-with-kim-hill-over-his-te-reo-stance">Don Brash clashes with Kim Hill over his te reo stance</a></strong></p><p>Deputy
Mayor Jill Day, who holds the Māori partnerships portfolio, said the
council wanted to gather as many ideas as possible on how it can make
the policy real.</p>
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<img alt="Wellington Deputy Mayor Jill Day, who holds the Māori partnerships portfolio, said the council wanted to gather as many ..." title="" src="https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/m/0/e/1/e/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1o8kg9.png/1517791054223.jpg" class="gmail-photoborder">
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<span class="gmail-photocredittext">KEVIN STENT/STUFF</span>
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<p>Wellington Deputy Mayor Jill Day, who holds the Māori
partnerships portfolio, said the council wanted to gather as many ideas
as possible from the public on how it can make its te reo Māori policy
real.
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<p>"We are not going to tell Wellingtonians what the policy will be -
it's important we start the conversation in the community and for them
to tell us."</p><p>Signs were the instigator for a wide ranging policy, she said.</p><p>"It
made us ask why don't we have signs that are bilingual - but we don't
want this to be a policy that is all about signage - we want to take it
further and focus on all the ways a language is seen and heard," she
said.</p><p>The current plan for signs was to replace old ones with
bilingual versions when they needed renewing, and the policy would make
it a priority for the council, she said.</p><div class="gmail-display-ad gmail-story_body_advert"><div id="gmail-storybody__container">
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</div><p>One area in the city, where a Māori name takes pride of place,
is Whairepo Lagoon - but two years after it was officially named by the
New Zealand Geographic Board, people still refer to it as Frank Kitts
Lagoon, Day said.</p><p>To showcase how the policy can be enacted, Day
took to the lagoon to show Wellingtonians how they can visualise te reo
in the city.</p><p>To recognise the name of the lagoon, the council will
decorate the surrounding area with chalk to say 'Whairepo' – designed
by artist Reweti Arapere. </p><p>"The Whairepo (eagle rays) that inhabit
the lagoon are considered guardians of the area, but many don't know
about the Māori name of the lagoon or the creatures that live in or
visit the water," she said.</p><p>The council's consultation document
states that te reo is an integral part of the city and the policy was
the council's public statement of commitment to the language.</p><p>As the capital, the city was well placed as the natural home of te reo, which should be recognised, the document says.</p><p>The
policy will include contributing to Māori well being and incorporating
Māori perspectives in all policy work, as well as stimulating Māori
economic, social and cultural innovation.</p><p>The council wanted to set an example for the rest of the city, Day said.</p><p>"The
big thing for us is showing leadership and commitment and saying as a
council, 'this is how we want to be in the community' - and inspire
other businesses to get involved and take some responsibility ... It's
an official language and we need to make sure we back it."</p><p>She dismissed recent criticism of the language and said it was everyone's responsibility to keep the language going.</p><p>"Their
[critics'] comments don't fly in the community anymore and people are
much more aware of their responsibility to revitalise te reo."</p><p>More
people in Wellington were speaking and interested in te reo Māori but
to make it an everyday spoken language, was a long path, she said</p>
<br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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