Resources to learn the Māori Language
We have these two amazing books in our catalogue that would be just perfect to get you started in learning te reo Māori but, before you race to the catalogue to download them and get started, I need to let you know that just one of them is available as an ebook, the link is below.
The amazing author, Hēmi Kelly, wanted to help everyone out and he has started a Facebook group called “A Māori Phrase a Day”. He has selected phrases from the book that everyone can learn as a helpful resource during the level 4 Rāhui (lockdown).
It’s a public group so just click here to go directly there. If you just want to watch the videos in order (as the feed is full of positive feedback and questions for Hēmi so may be hard to find), you can just click on the video tab to find all the videos together.
Now to his titles here on our catalogue:
A Māori phrase a day : 365 phrases to kickstart your reo / Kelly, Hēmi
Also available as an ebook now, check it on Overdrive.
“A Maori Phrase a Day offers a simple, fun and practical entry into the Maori language. Through its 365 Maori phrases, you will learn the following: Everyday uses English translations Factoids and memory device Handy word lists Presenting the most common, relevant and useful phrases today, A Maori Phrase a Day is the perfect way to kickstart your te reo journey!” (Catalogue)
A Māori word a day : 365 words to kickstart your reo / Kelly, Hēmi
“A Maori Word a Day offers an easy, instant and motivating entry into the Maori language. Through its 365 Maori words, you will learn the following
– English translations
– Word category, notes and background information
– Sample sentences, in both te reo Maori and English
Exploring the most common, modern and contemporary words in use today, A Maori Word a Day is the perfect way to kickstart your te reo journey!” (Catalogue)
Okay so now you can go and put one of these titles on your reserve list and, just in case you hadn’t heard the good news, reserves are free and you can choose any of our library branches (once we reopen) to collect them from. Actually just before you do that, read on and check out a couple of apps I’ve listed below that you can use on your phone to learn Māori kupu as well.
Apps to learn Māori Language Vocabulary
Here are two apps, Tipu and Kupu that you can use on your phone to learn te reo Māori vocabulary. If you would like to make some labels to learn the words for everyday items around your house then I suggest you take a look at the app ‘Kupu’. It’s lots of fun taking photos and learning the te reo Māori translations of many of the objects in your own home bubble.
Tipu will help you to learn Te Reo Māori quickly!
Koi is your teacher and she has an innovative Personalised Progression Memory which allows her to remember what words and phrases you know and which ones you need a little extra testing on. This ensures that you are learning as quickly as possible.
Download Tipu here
Kupu is really easy to use and of course, lots of Wellingtonians will need the kupu for coffee! Simply take a picture and Kupu will then use image recognition to identify what the object is in the picture and provide Te Reo Māori translations for the object(s).
Perfect to label things in your bubble!
Download Kupu here
You might be surprised to discover you already know quite a few of the kupu when you start watching the Facebook videos or using these apps. Philip Matthews in a Stuff article published on the 8th Sept 2018 titled ‘The borrowers: Why you are speaking more Māori than you think’ says that;
There will be around seven Māori words in every 1000 words of New Zealand English, including the names of places and people. That may not sound like a lot, but it is relatively high and it makes New Zealand unique among post-settler societies, historians say. You do not see similar borrowing at work in Australia and North America.
So you may know more than you think! If learning te reo Māori is one of your lockdown goals and a way to make the most of some the free time you might have during the lockdown period or you could use it as a break from work, if you are working from home, then give it a go! Or to say it in te reo Māori, karawhiua!
That’s all from me for now, so yes, you can go and put one of Hēmi’s titles on your reserve list now!
