[lg policy] Why you’ll be seeing more Māori place names pop up in Wellington

[Harold Schiffman]

Why you’ll be seeing more Māori place names pop up in Wellington

Visitors to Wellington
<https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/wellington> will
soon see a lot more *te reo Māori* (Māori language) around as the city aims
to be the heart of indigenous culture in New Zealand
<https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand> and give new respect to its
heritage.
<https://lonelyplanetwpnews.imgix.net/2019/04/wellington-place-names-maori.jpg>More
native place names will be seen around Wellington soon. Photo by Jacques
van Dinteren/Getty Images

The language policy – named *Te Tauihu* after the figurehead carves into
Māori canoes – was first voted into practice in June 2018 and its first act
was to dub Wellington’s Civic Square *Te Ngākau*, meaning ‘the heart’.
Since then, other places have been given new names in New Zealand’s native
language.

The city’s waterfront is now called *Ara Moana* (ocean pathway) and the
nearby Frank Kitts Park is now Whairepo Lagoon. Wellington Zoo
<https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/wellington/attractions/wellington-zoo/a/poi-sig/440858/362813>
is
also following the example set by the city council by giving their zones
bilingual names and they’ve also created a fun game for kids to learn the
names of animals in Māori.
<https://lonelyplanetwpnews.imgix.net/2019/04/maori-language-wellington.jpg>The
campaign also wants to get people to use te reo Māori in shops and
restaurants. Photo by andresr

The city spots reacquiring Māori names will continue to have English
monikers too, they will simply be bilingual in a similar fashion to place
names in some regions of Canada <https://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada> and
Ireland <https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland>. The eventual goal is for
Wellington signs to be a *te reo Māori* city by 2040, the 200th anniversary
of the Treaty of Waitangi between local chiefs and representatives of the
British crown.

The place names will give the language a chance to be “seen and heard much
more around our capital city,” said Mayor Justin Lester in the policy
document. “We want to lead the way in making the language a core part of
the cultural fabric and identity of our city and we’re already making good
progress.”

City Lab
<https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/04/new-zealand-history-maori-culture-indigenous-language-te-reo/587599/?utm_content=edit-promo&utm_campaign=citylab&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=2019-04-23T18%3A36%3A10>
also
reports that a Māori heritage trail is also in the works, as is the
retelling of Māori legends in playgrounds and at Mount Victoria
<https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/auckland/attractions/mt-victoria/a/poi-sig/1073536/1341384>
.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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