Kia ora, my name is Jack Karetai-Barrett, and I'm a Year 10 student at Whakatane High School.

This month, I will be following on from my last article, and writing about regional variation, or mita in te reo Māori and the origins of the Māori language.

Te reo Māori, my ancestral language, originally came from the Eastern Polynesian language family. My ancestors brought this language to Aotearoa when they migrated from eastern Polynesia around 1200CE.

As my people spread throughout Aotearoa, our language took on distinctive features in each of the regions. In particular, te reo Kāi Tahu of the South developed into a distinctive mita with its own sound, nuance, and idioms. (Nuances: Subtle differences in meaning or expression. Idioms: Phrases with meanings that aren't literal, unique to a language or culture.) This variation in dialects is common in other languages. My mum is from the South Island, so as well as speaking Kāi Tahu reo, she says “crib” instead of "bach" and “Belgium” instead of “luncheon sausage”. She also rolls her “r” sounds when she speaks English, like others from the deep South, and likes eating tītī, and cheese rolls (together!).

While the Kāi Tahu dialect is known for its distinctive "k" sound replacing "ng," the Tūhoe dialect also has its own unique features. In Tūhoe reo, the "ng" sound is more like an "n" sound. So, the word for people, "tānata," is used rather than "tāngata” we are taught at school, which is different again from Kāi Tahu, where we say “tākata”. Some pronouns spoken in Tūhoe reo are also  different, with "a" over "ou," such as using "mātau" instead of "mātou." Another difference is the use of "kai" for "kei" and "hai" for "hei." These differences are evidence of the very important oral tradition all the tribes of Aotearoa shaping a dialect that belongs strictly to them within the wider context of Te Reo Māori.

As I explained in my last article, when we introduce ourselves in reo Māori we start with our pepeha, to let people know our ancestors, before letting them know who we are as individuals. My pepeha starts, “Ko Pukekura te mauka." The use of “mauka” instead of the common “maunga” for mountain immediately lets people know my whakapapa is from the South Island, even if they are unsure where Pukekura is located (it is located at the point of the Otago peninuslar).

A few words are shared in unique ways between some East Coast tribes and Kāi Tahu. Examples include:

Pōua - Grandfather

Taua - Grandmother

Hākui/Hākoro – Mother/Father

Huanui – Road

Pōhatu – Rock

Tātau – Us/Ours

The written history of Kāi Tahu reo dates from the time of Captain Cook's first visits to the South Island. Reverend James Watkin, stationed at Karitane, discovered that the unique Kāi Tahu dialect spoken in Otago differed significantly from North Island Māori. This meant that materials prepared by North Island missions were unsuitable for use in the region, highlighting the distinct nature of the southern dialect.

He taoka te reo Māori: The Māori language is a treasure. From its roots in Polynesia, right through to the development of our distinctive regional mita, te reo Māori is a language that represents my history, my whanau tradition, and my diversity. Understanding the origins and dialectical differences of te reo Māori is critical as ongoing efforts are made to revitalise and preserve our language for future generations. It has been a battle to restore use of our language after colonisation, when use of te Reo was forbidden in education for such a long time. It seems like the government we have right now would like to make it forbidden again. Lucky for me, I get to learn te reo Māori as a subject with whaea Hemarangi Carnegie at Whakatane High School, and she is a champion for all the ways we speak our reo; Whaea, and our other reo teachers encourage us to use our unique mita so we don’t lose it.

We are all responsible for protecting, maintaining, and developing our language so that we can continue to enjoy its diversity and richness. Learning about the diverse mita in te reo Māori, allows me to fully appreciate just how valuable our language really is and how having a better understanding of my language means to my identity as a rakatahi Māori.