Using te reo Māori in English

Many of us want to help normalise the use of te reo Māori (Māori language) in our daily work. What options have we got?

Here are some audience-based approaches.

English text with some kupu Māori (Māori words) included, and translated

This works best when you don't know your audience's level of fluency in te reo – better to be safe than sorry!

See how I used brackets to translate two of the kupu above? That's to include my overseas readers, whom I've assumed don't know any reo Māori.

English text with some kupu Māori included

This works best when you know – or expect – your audience to understand a certain level of vocabulary.

For example, does your workplace have a reo Māori strategy in place that's designed to increase everybody's language skills? Then you might choose not to translate some kupu to indicate what level of knowledge is expected.

I'm not talking about drowning people in unfamiliar vocab – I'm talking about creating enough space between the known and the unknown to keep people feeling the need to learn more.

The Oxford Dictionary lists kupu Māori that don't need a translation because they're so commonly used in New Zealand English. If you're writing to a New Zealand audience, you can assume your readers are familiar with these.
The list on the New Zealand government's web-writing guidelines

Full text in English plus a full translation in te reo Māori

This works best when you have a section of your audience fluent in te reo Māori.

It's also brilliant when you want to create a welcoming and mana-enhancing experience for reo Māori speakers. 
Some great research on the effect of dual-language websites by the National Library

 Other things to consider:

  • Is your topic specific to a Māori worldview? If so, kupu Māori probably get the idea across best, especially if the idea is hard to translate.

  • Accuracy is very important. Only use te reo Māori when you're sure you're using it correctly.

  • Don't switch between English and Māori for one term in the same document. For example, if you're using 'rangatahi' for 'youth', stick to 'rangatahi' the whole time. If you switch back and forth, people can wonder if you're talking about two groups: Māori youth and other youth.