Te Reo - Use of Te Reo Maori 1996 (Census)

Use of te reo Mäori

Over the last decade, education initiatives have been developed by Mäori, for Mäori, in order to improve outcomes for Mäori. The importance of te reo Mäori has stimulated the growth of kohanga reo, Mäori-medium classes and immersion schools.

The 1996 Census asked the question "In which language(s) could you have a conversation about a lot of everyday things?" Just over 26 percent of Mäori said they could have such a conversation in Mäori.

The figure below shows that the proportion of Mäori speakers increases with age, with the most significant increase occurring between the ages of 40 and 60 years. Mäori aged 65 and over were the group most likely to be able to speak Mäori, with 54.1 percent indicating they could do so. Older Mäori are possibly more likely to speak Mäori because they were brought up in an era when the Mäori language was used more widely than today and before large scale urbanisation weakened links with traditional Mäori settings.

The proportion of Mäori speakers was lowest amongst 20-39-year-olds. Differences between the sexes were also evident. Females aged under 20 years were more likely than males to speak Mäori, but the reverse was true for all older age groups (except those aged 30-34 where the proportions are equal).

At all age groups, rural Mäori (those living in areas with a population less than 1,000) were more likely to speak Mäori than their urban counterparts. The gap between urban and rural speakers widened from the age of 50. By the age of 65 and over, 67.4 percent of rural Mäori said they could speak Mäori compared to 49.7 percent of urban Mäori.

For more information you can order NZ Now Maori or Te Kanohi Hou o Aotearoa: Mäori.