Māori Language Week

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Vocabulary:

Celebrate: Do something fun to show that you are happy

Perform: to do something in public. Usually if you perform a song or dance, you feel nervous because everyone is watching you.

Compulsory: if something is compulsory, you have to do it, you have no choice.

Promote: if you promote something, it is a little bit like advertising. You want other people understand your message.

Answers:

On Monday, thousands of people had a parade in Wellington to celebrate Māori language week. There were many school children and teachers in the parade. People were singing songs and performing haka, the famous Māori dance.

New Zealand has a week every year to promote the language of Māori, and this year’s theme will be ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ which means ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong’. This comes in a year where there has been discussion about making Māori language study compulsory for all students.

This week there will be more stories in the news about Māori language, and some companies and schools will do things to promote Māori language and culture. As an example, you may see posters in the buses that teach you some Māori words.

There will be more Māori language parades in the Auckland CBD on Thursday 13^th September, In Manukau and Gisborne on the 14^th, and in Rotorua on the 16th.