The introduction for this post, about the 2019 Ockham Awards and dated 14th May, is from Noted.co.nz
Te Mūrau o te Tuhi, a discretionary Māori language award, was presented this year to pioneering te reo and tikanga academics Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and Professor Te Wharehuia Milroy for their work He Kupu Tuku Iho: Ko te Reo Māori te Tatau ki te Ao. Professor Milroy died last week.
“This book’s value is undeniable. Its language, accessible. This is a doorway to their world,” said the awards’ te reo Māori judge Dr Ruakere Hond.
From <https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/books/ockham-nz-book-awards-2019-winners-
He Kupu Tuku Iho is a collection of structured conversations between Tīmoti Kāretu and the late Te Wharehuia Milroy, lightly edited by a team from Te Ipukarea. It mainly deals with tikanga and reo Māori issues. In this interview Ruakere Hond talks with Eruera Morgan about the book. The interview ends with a brief but beautiful maimai aroha (tribute) to Wharehuia from Ruakere. The original interview is clear and accessible, and should not prove too challenging for an intermediate learner.
Here is the original interview, dated 17th May, 2019.
As for my own summary, please be aware that my own reo may well be less than ideal…
E ai ki a Ruakere, he uaua tana tūnga i te pō whakanui ki te tuku atu i ōna whakaaro mō te pukapuka nei, i te mea he pōuri tonu tōna ngākau mō Te Wharehuia. Ko tā Ruakere, ko te āhua o tēnei pukapuka, he mea e tautoko ana i tā Wharehuia kōrero; me huri te reo Māori i te matamata o te pene ki te matamata o te arero. Ki tō Ruakere whakaaro, ā tōna wā, ko tēnei te hua o te pukapuka nei.
Ko tā Ruakere, ko tētahi āhuatanga nui o te pukapuka whai tohu, kia hāngai ai ki a rātou e pānui ana, ā, ki a ia, he pēnā tēnei pukapuka. Āhua ngāwari te rere o te reo, ahakoa te matatau o ngā ‘kaituhi’. Ko te reo i kitea i reira, ko te reo o ngā mea i tipu ake i ngā wā, i ngā wāhi e rere ana te reo Māori i roto i ngā kāinga o Tūhoe.
E ai ki a Ruakere, he nui ngā aronga o te pukapuka, ā, he tini ngā kaupapa, otirā, ko te mea nui, ko te whitiwhiti whakaaro, ko te wānanga i waenganui i a rāua e pā ana ki ngā tikanga o te ao Māori. Ahakoa tērā, ko te reo i kitea i reira, ko te reo o te kāuta, o te tēpu kai – kāore i te reo ōkawa.
Heoi anō, e ai ki a Ruakere, i tana pānuitanga i ngā kōrero a Tīmoti mō te reo, kāore i kitea he tino tohutohu āna, otirā he momo wero ki te kaipānui – he pēhea ō koutou whakaaro mō te reo, mō te whakarauora o te reo, ā, ka pēhea e nui ake ai te ora o te reo Māori?
Vocab
te matamata o te pene the point of the pen
he nui ngā aronga (the book) focuses on many aspects
e pā ana ki concerning, about
te reo o te kāuta the language spoken in the kitchen (everyday, informal)
whakarauora revive, revival
He kōrero poto 