(English version in first comment – ngā mihi!)
I te whakaahua e whakatairanga ana i te marama reo Māori (ko Mahuru Māori tēnā), kua kitea te arero whakairotia. Kua marama te tikanga – me ū te tangata ki te reo Māori, ki te whakaaro Māori hoki. Ehara i te mea, he pai ki te puta mai ai ngā kupu Māori noa iho – e kāo; me Māori te momo whakatakoto kōrero, me te aha, me Māori kē ngā whakaaro. Kua mōhiotia whānuitia te kupu akiaki a Tīmoti mā – ‘ko te reo kia rere, ko te reo kia tika, ko te reo kia Māori.’ Me mihi ka tika ki ngā āhuatanga e toru, otirā, me pēhea ngā whakaaro ina ka puta mai te kōrero Māori i te arero Pākehā? He Pākeha tēnei e tuhi ana… Me pēhea ōku whakaaro? Ko tāku ki a koutou, kei ahau ōku aku whakaaro.
Engari, me whakatakoto ōku whakaaro i te momo whakatakotoranga reo Māori, i runga i ngā tikanga Māori hoki. Hei tauira – mena ka mihia tētahi tangata i ‘Te Karere’ (kua whiwhi ki te tohu pea), ina ka whakahoki te tangata ki te kairipoata, kāore i rangona ngā kupu whakahīhī, otirā, ko te kupu mihi kē ki tōna whānau, ki tōna hapū, iwi, ki a rātou i tautoko i a ia i te haerenga roa. He pai tēnā – he tika, he Māori tēnei momo whakaaro. ‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi’- āe mārika, te mutunga kē mai o te tika o tēnei momo kōrero.
I tōku whānau, ahakoa he whānau Pākehā kē, ka rere tonu te reo Māori – ko māua ko taku tamāhine e pēnei ana – ā, i tōna wā, wānangatia ai ngā whakatakotoranga reo, me te ‘whakaaro Māori’ hoki.
Ngā mihi o te wā!
Āhua mōhio 
(Freely translated)
Māori September: thoughts about the carved tongue
In the picture promoting the month of the Māori language (Mahuru Māori), you can see a carved (or patterned) tongue. The meaning is clear – speakers should stick with the Māori language, and with Māori ways of thinking too. It’s not good enough to just say Māori words – instead, the language patterns should be Māori, and, to take it a step further, the thought patterns should be Māori too. The expression used by Tīmoti and other reo Māori leaders to encourage this is well-known – ‘The language should flow freely, it should be correct, and it should express Māori ideas.’ These three aspects are all important, but what thoughts should be emerging if a Pākehā is speaking the language? I’m the one writing this ,and I’m Pākeha – what thoughts should I be having? Well, I will say this – my own thoughts are up to me.
However, I should express my thoughts in ways appropriate to te reo Māori, and appropriate to Māori customs as well. For example, if someone is being congratulated on ‘Te Karere’ (for gaining some honour, perhaps), when the person responds, you won’t hear proud, self-centred responses to the reporter. Instead you’ll hear acknowledgement of the contribution made by the persons family, hapū, iwi, supporters on the person’s long journey. That’s the appropriate thing to do, and the Māori way of thinking. ‘My success is not mine alone’ – so this really is the right way of talking (in this situation).
In my family, although we’re Pākehā, the Māori language can still be heard – between my daughter and I – and at times, we talk through aspects of how to express things, and ‘Māori ways of thinking’ too.
Warm greetings of this special time!
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