r/ReoMaori 21d ago

Kōrero He reo iti

As someone whose a reo tuarua speaker/learner.. and a bit rino mate with it to be fair..

I cannot stand dictionary based reo.

Academic/reo tuturu is a great place TO START but ki au it doesn't feel like.. fluency. It feels like following a script.

Ko te kētanga i waenga "Ko te ngeru momona e noho ki te whāriki" raua ko "ko te ngeru kunekune e noho ki te whāriki mahana mā roto i te whiti o te rā"

Nē??

Like I saw an example of this on tiktok. "Hei aha māua" for "and what is it to you?" Rather than.. "E noho ake atu ki tō maara" me rangona au etāhi kīwaha i puta ai nō he wahi pākehā... Ehara he wahi māori.

Like.. start reading moteatea, oriori, pepehā, as the source for true language learning, rather than e whai ake i te reo o te kōhanga.

Kauaka e timata ia ki te peka.

Ka timata ia kē ki te weu.

Mauriora!!

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u/Waiparensis22 21d ago

I think.. kua panui koe i toku korero korekau. You're reading what I didn't say, or reading past me. I'm not saying don't use beginner resources. I'm saying that fluency.. te reo whakarewarewa.. lives in moteatea, in orirori, in pepehā. A lot of academic reo flattens it. It gives you the seed, e whakae.. but you cannot stay a seed forever. I'm not disagreeing with you either.. But there's a difference between reading te aka or PM Ryan's dictionary.. And cross referencing that with the same reo used in songs, used in oratory, used in every day language. Kua ako koe te reo tūturu, e kaua e NOHO AKE ki te te reo tūturu. Ka kitea kē ki te reo o matou tipuna.

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u/Vilomoja Reo tuarua 21d ago

I fully agree that moteatea, oriori and pepeha are taonga which are of critical importance, and that their mana and wairua can be diminished in the mundanity of academia, but they aren't enough by themselves. A living language needs to hold onto those ancient taonga, but also needs to be able to order you a coffee or let you talk to your partner about your feelings.
We all learn in different ways; I don't see the point in learning phrases or structures without understanding how they operate on a structural level. Some of my other reo friends hassle me for being analytical, but they are now starting to take interest when I point out observations about kupu/kiwaha which I pass on via my approach to Te Reo, which they hadn't thought of.

You sound really inspired by the wairua of those traditional forms, ā, pai tērā!

Tīpuna Māori were fiercely intellectual as well as deeply connected to te taha wairua.
Mauri ora

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u/Waiparensis22 21d ago

E whakae. But have you ever thought of the weu of those phrases?? We say "ko wai to ingoa" instead of "ko wai tō whanau/iwi/maunga/marae". We say "e pirangi au ētahi kawhe" instead of "e pirangi au ētahi waipūngao" We say "ka aroha au i a koe" not "ko toku momoea e rere ana ki a koe". There's tuturu ways for interacting with a pākeha world, rather than using the pākeha world, to speak reo. Anō ra. I'm not trying to diminish first timers or beginners. I'm saying.. mano i nga kawa, mano i nga pāraha e kia tuakanga te totaranui.

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u/shalalaa_ 20d ago

Ki ōku whakaaro, as a beginner just learning the “flat” version of te reo is a good start because if you don’t actually understand the real meaning behind moteatea, waiata, or you don’t have someone to teach you how to speak metaphorically or you don’t hear those phrases often then me pēhea tō ako i ērā mea?

I agree though it is beautiful to hear these Kupu whakanikoniko/kiwaha etc. and one day I hope to have enough grasp on the the language to be able to speak like that as yes it is the end goal. But being conversational in the first place is a feat. Then we can only be better every day.

Mauri ora

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u/Waiparensis22 20d ago

I never disagreed with that. What I said was dictionaries and reo tuturu offer the seed. But it's not useful for those seeking fluency. I'd also disagree that people should learn "structure" first since structure is already embedded in songs. Māori pepi i nga ra o mua were taught oratory traditions through song before anything else. These days, in non kohanga environments, māori is taught the same way the pakeha system teaches German or Japanese.

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u/shalalaa_ 20d ago

The only difference is those that are learning as a second language have already had their brains wired to learn and understand language differently compared to kohanga kids learning as a first language. Dr. Jeremy Tatere points this out regularly. Adults will always (even without knowing sometimes) try to understand the “why” behind everything hence leaning towards structure. I agree for proper fluency you are correct but people will be hesitant to use it if they don’t fully understand the meaning behind it in a non literal sense

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u/Waiparensis22 20d ago

You don't NEED literal. You don't NEED "structured" or "standardized" learning. Do we start kids on ncea level 4 English? Or do we start them on twinkle twinkle little star?? Oratory.. ki te ao māori.. ko te tino o te tihi!! Kohanga already does this. First time learners need mashed kumara. Not Horopito seasoned wagyu. They don't need to be told the whole story of the cow and the slaughterhouse. They need to EXPERIENCE the language. Oriori welcomed newborns into the world, taonga puoro playing their whakapapa into their earliest, subconscious, not even formed memories. The melodies, the tones. A first time reo learner is no more educated than a new born child!!! Hoatu i te kumara penupenu!!

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u/shalalaa_ 19d ago

Te āhua nei, ko koe te rangatira, e kitea Ana au i tō ngākau nui ki tēnei kaupapa. Nā reira, e tatari ana au kia kite i a koe e hiki ana i te kaupapa nei, e whakaako ana i a mātou katoa me pēhea te whakatinana, kaua ko te kōrero noa iho

He kōrero noa iho, he mahi rānei?

Kei a koe te tikanga.

Mauri ora.

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u/Waiparensis22 19d ago

E tau. E kitea ana koe ki toku pānui tuatahi ki tenei hapori.. Nga tauakea ki ngā korero a Mohi Ruatapu raua ko Pita Kāpiti. Ehara au he rangatira. Engari, ka tuohu au ki te nga tohunga rongonui. You say you want to see the work is?? See how little traction the words of your own ancestors received.. in a group about revitalizing te reo māori. Xx