Te reo Māori: Speak it, normalise it

Do not be afraid to try, practise, practise, practise; gain confidence

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori falls on the week starting 12 September and members of Ngā Kaitiaki o te Puna Rongoā would love to see the official language of New Zealand celebrated by being spoken at work and at home.

“Answer the phone in te reo, introduce yourself in te reo, say goodbye in te reo. The more we do this, the more normal it will be for everyone,” says Mariana Hudson, president of Ngā Kaitiaki o te Puna Rongoā (MPA).

She adds by email that acknowledgement of te reo should not be once a year but every day.

Many organisations, including pharmacy, are more responsive to including te reo in the workplace. But if changes to signage are made, she would like to see all staff being able to pronounce the words on them and use kupu in their everyday lives.

Pronunciation is key. “Do not be afraid to try, practise, practise, practise; gain confidence. Use your workplace meetings to practise with each other, find someone in your community who is willing to support your team,” says Ms Hudson (Te Whakatōhea/Ngāti Porou).

MPA executive member Dianna Gibbs (Ngāti Maniapoto) says if you’re unsure of how to pronounce a customer’s name, just ask them.

“For those pharmacies fortunate to have a speaker of te reo (and/or other languages), this should be prominently displayed in the same way that some online clinician services list all languages spoken by each clinician. Be careful of making assumptions regarding who can/cannot speak or understand te reo,” she says.

As to barriers pharmacies may face in introducing te reo, Mrs Gibbs says it’s important that staff know how to manage resistance to using the language (or outright racism) from customers or colleagues.

Fear of making mistakes in pronunciation or limited time to learn te reo are also barriers, but she would like to see pharmacies across Aotearoa marking Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with staff greeting all customers in te reo, promotions on social media or radio, and possibly run in conjunction with promotions for screening for health conditions that predominantly affect Māori.

Executive member Lisa Kremer (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) adds the week of 12–18 September could be acknowledged by pharmacy staff saying “kia ora” to everyone they greet, whether in person, on the phone, Zoom or email.

At Ranolf Pharmacy in Rotorua, owner Charlotte Schimanski has organised cultural fluency training for her team run by local company Engaging Well. “As well as insight into the impacts of colonisation, this covered some basic Māori pronunciation and greetings which we incorporate into everyday use,” says Ms Schimanski, who has herself completed the New Zealand Certificate in Tikanga and level 1 and 2 of te reo through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Asked about obstacles in learning te reo, she says by email introducing new initiatives takes time and resources and the last two and a half years have been hectic for pharmacy. “There’s so much going on – increases in dispensing, time constraints, staff shortages, an exhausted workforce and lots of new services.”