Q1: What’s driven you to write this book?
After seeing and hearing simple errors being made over the last five years, I thought I could assist in correcting these anomalies by sharing my understanding of grammatical structures and the specific role particles play with each verb type.
Q2: There are several other language-learning books out there already. What makes Tūmahi Māori different?
The book presents a new perspective in focusing on the five verb types and explaining the important roles of the various particles with each verb type. It also offers examples and exercises to consolidate the learning that takes place.
Q3: There’s a tendency in many languages to let the grammatical strictures of an earlier era slide. Do you think this is regrettable and a matter for concern?
Originally the Māori language was an oral language with subtle nuances, natural rhythm and melodic tones emanating from the vowel sounds. The introduction of the medium of writing through the construction of an alphabet meant the nuances, rhythms, and melodic tones could not be transferred. Over time, through colonisation, legislative processes and urban drift, te reo Māori was marginalised and suppressed. Also, with the passing away of fluent speakers the use of te reo Māori declined and its survival relied on the written word in most cases. We have the Māori newspapers of the 1800s through to 1930 to thank for leaving a record of the structure of te reo, as many contributors to those papers wrote the way they spoke.
Q4: What errors does it especially lead to when speaking and writing te reo Māori?
The main error being made by learners, and in some cases those reasonable competent in te reo, is following English sentence structures when speaking or writing.
This results in speakers and writers using Māori words but reflecting English thought patterns. There is a need to learn the unique te reo Māori structures, idioms, proverbs and phrasings to embody the saying ‘iti te kupu, nui te kōrero’: minimal words saying a lot.
Q5: When you were young and being taught by expert speakers, what did they teach you in this regard?
We never spoke te reo Māori when we were young as my family was part of the ‘pepper potting’ policy where we were moved from our rural roots of Rākautātahi and Takapau to be the only Māori family on our street in Waipukurau. I began learning te reo when I had to teach it. I thought that if I am to teach it, I had better understand it. This was a long challenging process done by myself, though attending university and eventually wānanga reo at te pūaha o Waikato where the doorway to te ao Māori opened and I began to think Māori.
Q6: Who were some of those teachers, and what do you remember and admire about their methods?
Too many to name, but collectively the mōrehu kuia of the Kura Reo, many who have now passed; Tā Tīmoti Kāretu, with his insistence on accuracy and his Māori humour, and the tutelage of Te Wharehuia Milroy within the Te Panekiretanga, who would take you beyond the word being taught to experience its origin, its texture and its whakapapa. Also, through the sometimes extremely humorous interaction with my peers within the Kura Reo and Te Panekiretanga we created some quite unique thinking that was still totally Māori.
Q7: Rules are not always easy to grasp, in any language, but once you know them is it transformative?
I recall one teaching of Te Wharehuia in respect to following the grammatical perspective in learning te reo Māori where he cautioned us with the statement, ‘Mō ngā ture wetereo, kia maumahara, ahakoa te ture he aronga kē tōna!’ In respect to the grammatical rules for the Māori language, regardless of the rule, there’s always an exception!
Q8: Can you give us an example of what would be a really embarrassing sentence if you did not have solid grasp of verb types and particles?
I recall one instance when, conducting a session in the Whakapiki i te Reo professional development programme, a participant who was learning te reo said to me, ‘Hone, kua oma atu taku pene!’ This statement is an example of speaking from an English mind but using Māori words. Another common example is telling children to go outside: ‘Haere ki waho’ instead of ‘Me puta ki waho’.
Q9: The recovery of te reo Māori thanks to kōhanga reo and kura is a wonderful thing. Is this book a reflection that now that there are so many more, especially young people, speaking with confidence and passion, this is the time to refine those abilities?
Yes, this book is perhaps a waymark of where the knowledge and understanding of te reo Māori is now. In the 1980s, when the kōhanga reo began, the focus was on teaching te reo. Through these past 50 years, through the increased understanding and knowledge of te reo Māori, its subtle nuances, its textures, its rhythms and its whakapapa we now teach the content of the curriculum areas in the medium of te reo.
Q10: What do you hope readers and users will take from your book?
I hope that through knowing the family of terms under the five verb types and the specific roles the various particles play with each verb type, learners, and even teachers, will increase and consolidate their present understanding and knowledge. And I hope that through reading the book and doing the exercises people will gain an understanding of the vital role the particles play in correctly conveying one’s thoughts cloaked in a Māori mindset.