We lose our languages, we lose who we are
“Our Pacific Blue Continent is not just bound by ocean. It’s also bound by our languages.” — Ngahiwi Apanui, chief executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
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Tag: Pacific languages
‘You can’t speak what you can’t hear’
“It wasn’t very long ago that Indigenous athletes would only speak English during interviews. So the fact they will now use their star status to raise awareness of their culture and language is a sign of progress.” — Dion Enari & Sierra Keunga.
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Melanesians in Aotearoa — a minority within a minority
“The development of the Pacific Languages Strategy is an example of how, too often, Polynesian countries and cultures are often taken as representing all of the Pacific population.” — Leina Isno.
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Emalani Case: Remembering our Pacific connections
“When we can show people how we’re all connected, there will be more motivation to stand and fight as a region.” — Dr Emalani Case.
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Steven Ratuva: Decolonising our ‘differences’
It’s important for us to look beyond the “artificial and nonsensical” demarcations imposed by early Europeans and see ourselves “as just one people connected at different levels through the ocean”, says Professor Steven Ratuva.
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Teresia Teaiwa: You can’t paint the Pacific with just one brush stroke
We may live in the Pacific, but our knowledge of our own complex and vast region leaves a lot to be desired. Teresia Teaiwa, a leading Pacific academic, is helping to change that.
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