While this year’s theme for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is about celebrating communities that have kept te reo Māori alive, for individuals, the language learning and reclamation journey can take an emotional toll that holds many people back.
Te Reo Māori academic and researcher Dr Awanui Te Huia told Breakfast that when someone is at a point where they can take the time and invest resources into learning the language, oftentimes there are emotional responses that take place for that that person they might not anticipate.
“These are emotional responses to understanding history, understanding the breakdown of language, how that happens over generations, and what was some of the causes of those breakdowns,” she said.
There were generational differences to consider too, such as older generations having had different schooling, education and proximity to “violent harms” against them and/or their parents in classrooms and society.
“How do we shift through some of those challenges in a collective way where we can hear each other's experiences and understand that there is a pathway? That we can shift through some of these mamae (hurt, harm) into a place where we feel empowered to use te reo Māori in our daily lives.”
Te Huia runs a course to help people understand the context of colonisation and the subsequent impact of that trauma on their language learning process. She said it’s about depersonalising shame.
“We're trying to depersonalise the fact that people feel like they're not 'good' language learners when actually, if you provide the conditions for people to flourish, such as communities where te reo Māori is readily available and accessible to people, as well as these psychological sort of resources, then that combination can help people through some of the challenges.”
Challenges they might not realise are shared, she said. A key piece of feedback she received from participants is how they wished they knew these insights earlier in their journey to help alleviate self-criticism.
“Which is often what people were doing when they're in the situation where they're reclaiming their language is trying to understand – ‘Why is it me? Is it just me?’”
She said when people already feel like they are on the “back foot” starting out into a journey that is important and “so emotionally laden”, there are high expectations involved.
But it’s about putting it into perspective.
Te Huia said when people stop to think about the hard things in life they have already overcome when learning a new skill, particularly unrelated to language, they can apply that experience of learning and be “a bit more gentle” to themselves.
We are always “far more” compassionate towards others, too, she said.
“We can see their struggles with fresh eyes and we're able to sort of, not be nearly as critical as other people as we are of ourselves.”
She said people and communities can do their bit to help support language learners.
“Whether it's encouraging somebody to use te reo Māori, or when they perhaps do make a mistake, just not making a big deal out of it and you know, sort of encouraging people in ways that allow them to see themselves as it's been, it's OK to be a learner.”
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