新西兰英语 313 Maori Language week
This is Maori language week, a time to think about the survival 1 of the Maori language and to encourage more people to use it. Listen to more about the purpose of Maori language week: July 29 2009
About 18,000 people are fluent in Maori but the number of fluent speakers is dropping. Only about 7% of Maori people speak the language well. However, 54% of Maori people say they can understand it. On the positive side, more young people are learning 2 Maori and more Pakeha are learning Maori.
Some Maori words are now part of New Zealand English. Kia Ora is a common greeting and most of us know words like kai (food), marae (meeting house), hui (meeting), mokopuna (grandchildren), kaumatua (elders), hangi (cooking food in the ground), tangi (for someone who has died), Te Reo (Maori language). Children learn basic Maori words at kindergarten and school as well as songs in Maori. TV and radio often include Maori greetings or introductions. Government departments, polytechs, universities, libraries are just some of the places where we see Maori labels. Maori ceremonies for important visitors are also common. However, a few Maori labels, greetings, ceremonies and common words are not enough for the language to survive.
The government spends $250m on helping 3 to keep Te Reo alive. Some of that money is for Maori radio and TV and some for Maori language lessons.
This week the focus is on kai – different foods, ways of preparing food, eating together. Some supermarkets have put Maori labels for food to remind us of Maori language week.
If you want to learn the New Zealand national anthem 4, listen to the NZ national anthem.
To learn some Maori words, go to www.koreromaori.co.nz.
Questions
1. Why is it important for Te Reo to survive?
2. What can the government do to encourage people to learn Te Reo?
3. What kind of things help a language survive?
- The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
- The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。
- When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
- Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。