Maori language ‘in danger of dying out’
20th October 2010
The Maori language is in danger of dying out because of neglect by successive New Zealand governments, a new report has claimed.
As older speakers of Maori die out they are not being replaced by enough younger people and the language now needs “life support”, the report says.
Uh, excuse me: If not enough people care to learn and speak the language, then how is this the fault of the government? Or the responsibility of the government to do something about it? Seems to me that the Maori ought to be the ones responsible.
The study says the language reached a nadir in the 1970s after decades of neglect and was saved only by the “sheer power” of Maori people to keep it alive.
Well, duh. Most languages don’t need government support to keep them alive. How is Maori defective?