Nana Arguments - Tumblr Posts

i got into an argument over official languages with my nana today but she didn’t let me speak so it’s been bubbling inside of me for fucking ages so i’m just gonna write what i would say here for my own benefit :)

(for context, i live in Aotearoa (New Zealand))

the only reason you would make a language official if it’s 1. important to the people of the country and 2. it’s going to be lost if it isn’t legally protected.

English doesn’t need the protection, we all speak english, we all know english, people aren’t denied opportunities because they only know english. Te Reo Māori needs the legal standing it has been granted to prevent it from nearing extinction, again. Making Te Reo Māori an official language means that Māori people have better chances to be represented accurately in court, hospitals, schools, and everywhere else. Te Reo Māori needed to be protected.

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) needed to be made an official language as the deaf people of Aotearoa didn’t have access to the country’s resources outside the deaf community. Making NZSL an offical language means that deaf new zealanders get to have a translator in court, in the medical sector, in schools. it gives them a fairer chance to succeed in a hearing dominated world. NZSL needed to be protected.

English didn’t. English doesn’t. you can go ANYWHERE and speak english, and get what you want, you don’t have to jump through hoops if you are a native english speaker of aotearoa. exams are, by default, in english, you don’t need to request a translator, or translated copy. you can understand everything without a middle man in a legal setting. the doctor can tell you directly what is wrong with you. English stands to gain absolutely nothing by making it an official language. it wouldn’t change anything. it’s not necessary, and it would lower the importance of being an offical language. in the public eye, Te Reo and NZSL got a boost up, climbing their way up to be seen as a proper language, not a “primitive” language, as they have both been described. English doesn’t need the boost.

Aotearoa only needs the two official languages.

Te Reo Māori (made official in 1987)

New Zealand Sign Language (made offical in 2006)