Ngākaunui ki te reo Māori

When Paora Rauputu began learning Korean while teaching in South Korea, the experience made him yearn for te reo Māori.

Ko Tainui te waka, Ko Ngāti Maniapoto te iwi, Ko Ngāti Waiora te hapū, Ko Mokau Kohunui, Ko Maniaroa, Ko Napinapi ngā marae, Ko Paora Rauputu tōku ingoa

“My wife and I taught English in South Korea for six years, and I started learning the language. I soon realised that Korean vowel sounds are exactly the same as Māori and the tikanga is similar: for example, respecting and caring for elders, and celebrating by eating together.

“It made me mokemoke for te ao Māori, and ever since then I’ve recognised a need to have more reo Māori in my life.”

Now working in the Human Resources team at Parininihi ki Waitōtara (PKW), Paora says it wasn’t until he came to work in the Māori organisation three years ago that he became fully motivated, at the age of 40, to learn te reo.

“Te reo Māori is part of our mission and values at PKW. I realised soon after joining the organisation that I needed to sharpen up.”

Paora grew up on his whānau farm in Piopio on Ngāti Maniapoto tūpuna whenua.

“My parents still live there today, and nearby is my sister and her tamariki. My mother is Pākehā and studied te reo and my Dad sits on the paepae at our marae, but te reo was not used frequently around our home.

“I had snippets at school but only started studying full-on three years ago at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. I wanted my kids to have reo in their life as part of their childhood, and that has become a prime motivating factor. They’re at primary school, aged 10 and 8, and we do our best to use te reo around the home. We try to speak te reo at mealtimes and we have a list of phrases, kupu and simple commands on the fridge, which we’re introducing in home life. We also learn waiata and karakia together as a whānau.”

Every Monday at the PKW offices, all staff are encouraged to take part in a tikanga and reo programme. Staff take turns to give pepeha, mihi and karakia, and there is a te reo lesson and waiata. This has been effective in promoting and normalising the use of te reo Māori in the workplace, but Paora is keen for more. He is being supported by PKW to ramp up his reo as part of a professional development programme.

“Once you set out on that journey, you immerse yourself as much as you can. I consider te reo a full-time journey, even though the formal classes I take are only part-time.

“I’m at an intermediate level and it’s an uncomfortable space. Learning the language means you have to put yourself out there, and it’s not always easy. Here at work, we focus on making sure our tikanga is correct, not just on the marae but in the boardroom and in our offices, too.

“I’m sometimes called upon now to welcome new people into the office. For me, it’s still uncomfortable going into a pōwhiri – but that discomfort drives you to want to be better and helps you to learn. Not being fluent, I still need to prepare if I’m going into a formal setting. I hate that feeling when you get asked to do something and you know you’re not prepared, so I’m always striving to improve.

“There’s always so much more to learn. Learning te reo opens up a whole new worldview and way of thinking. Now I feel more at ease and connected in Māori settings, yet there are so many other elements of the language that I haven’t yet discovered. I’m looking forward to learning more whakataukī (proverbs) and kīwaha (colloquialisms), those things that come from using the reo in everyday life.”

“Once you set out on that journey, you immerse yourself as much as you can. I consider te reo a fulltime journey, even though the formal classes I take are only part time.” Paora Rauputu