It’s Māori language week, Te wiki o te reo Māori, and it’s the perfect time to get more involved in our community by learning a bit more about Aotearoa’s second official language. It’s an opportunity for us all to honour our awesome, diverse country while also achieving those company culture goals of inclusion amongst all of your staff.
Our Māori heritage is widely recognised as an important part of what makes NZ so special.
In the case of this week’s whakanui of Te Reo Māori, we get to use language as the way to build more inclusivity and familiarity with a crucial part of our national identity and your wāhi mahi (workplace) is a great place to start, making part of our nation’s culture, a part of your workplace culture.
That’s pretty tu meke, if you ask me.
If you’ve never tried te reo before, don’t worry! It’s all about giving it a go, and you’ll soon find that people are happy to try speaking it with you.
Use it to greet, thank and say goodbye to people you meet in everyday life. It’s an easy way to use te reo and you’ll be surprised by how many people know the language too! mix it into your English and any other languages you speak.
Easy phases to begin with are kia ora (Hello/Thanks/Good luck!) and ka kite anō (See you again). Email sign-offs could include ngā mihi (regards) or nāku, nā (Yours faithfully).
Yellow Consulting is fully behind Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and keen to encourage more te reo spoken in the workplace – Learning a new language is never easy, but making an effort is the important thing, so give te reo a go!
Disclaimer
This article, and any information contained on our website is necessarily brief and general in nature, and should not be substituted for professional advice. You should always seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters addressed.
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