The first bilingual school traffic sign has been unveiled in Napier following a law change which will see both the Māori and English words for school featured on the signs.
The Land Transport Rule: Traffic Control Devices (Kura/School Signs) Amendment 2022 came into force on April 5 which sees bilingual wording now a requirement for any new school signs.
It’s part of an initiative that aims to inspire communities to speak and learn te reo Māori.
Waka Kotahi NZTA and Te Mātāwai - an independent Māori language advocacy agency - on Friday launched the sign.
The new-look tohu (sign) shows the word kura in bolder font above the word school to differentiate between te reo Māori and English.
READ MORE: New bilingual traffic signs for schools to replace English-only
Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, local Te Mātāwai Board representative and director at Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated spoke of the law change and its significance to his iwi which is based in Hawke’s Bay, where the sign was launched.
“Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated salutes the efforts being undertaken to normalise te reo Māori again within our tribal region,” said MacLeod.
“We are a tribe who suffered major language losses and initiatives such as these go a long way to reinstating te reo Māori within the district.”
The introduction of the new rule is part of the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme led by Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi which will see more bilingual signs put up, using a phased approach.
The kura/school signs will be used by road authorities when existing signs need to be replaced or new signs are introduced.
Kane Patena, Waka Kotahi director of land transport said the launch represented a "significant opportunity" to increase engagement throughout Aotearoa with te reo Māori through traffic signs.
Existing English-only school signs will remain legal traffic signs until replaced.
A selection of other traffic signs are expected to be released for public consultation later this year.
SHARE ME