Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori language week - has kicked off in Aotearoa as the language edges closer to its revival.
Fifty years ago, in 1972, the Māori language petition was presented to Parliament.
In 1960 just 25% of Māori were fluent in the language, which is a significant drop from the 90% who could speak te reo in 1900.
In 2022 34% of Māori are fluent in te reo. There's still a long way to go, but things are looking promising, according to one expert.
"I think we're in a space of exponential growth at the moment," te reo author, translator and teacher Hēmi Kelly told Breakfast.
"If you look back to 1972 when there were people going around getting signatures to present a petition to the government to say we need you to include te reo Māori in the school system.
"If you think back to then, in the last five decades to where we are now, I think it's quite amazing," Kelly said.
He said that his classes have seen a massive uptake in people ready and willing to learn the language, both Maori and non-Māori.
"I see people coming to our classes from all different backgrounds. I teach in central Tāmaki (Auckland) and sometimes the minority happens to be Māori."
He has even said that sometimes he sees people from overseas who are joining online classes to have a connection to Aotearoa.
In 2021 the Broadcasting Standards Authority announced that it would not acknowledge complaints about the use of te reo Māori on TV and radio. The language is now widely used across the country in things like entertainment, politics and education.
The acceptance of te reo in New Zealand society has grown massively over the last 50 years and Kelly sees this as a change in the perception of the language.
"People see the value in learning te reo, they see the relevance in learning te reo to their lives," Kelly said.
There is a wide range of reasons why people in Kelly's classes are choosing to learn the language.
"For Māori, there's a deep cultural connection to the language which is what motivates Māori to learn the language. For non-Māori, there are so many different reasons people express when they come."
Kelly said they are all keen to learn, whether they're married to someone who's Māori, their mokopuna are speaking the language or they're just interested in the culture.
The Government has set a goal to have one million Kiwis fluent in te reo by 2040.
As the nation edges closer to this goal, Kelly said the best way to learn is to join a class and give it a try.
Māori language week runs until September 18.
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