“An unrealistic expectation”: Māori youth on indigenous language purism

Abstract

Linguistic purism can play an especially political role in legitimising and authenticating indigenous identities. For languages now undergoing revitalisation after histories of colonial conquest, purism that precludes foreign influences in language corpora and behaviour can be seen as reversing the impacts of language contact and reasserting indigeneity. This is indeed the case for te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, that was suppressed and essentially outlawed by the British but is now undergoing revitalisation. How indigenous New Zealanders feel about such purism, however, has been subject to minimal inquiry. This article analyses the attitudes of around 200 Māori youth, solicited through an online survey, to purism in Māori vocabulary development and to a recurring purist discourse, commonly reproduced by indigenous elders, that criticises errors when speaking te reo Māori. The article reveals a tension between supporting purism for the linguistic self-determination of the indigenous collective, and rejecting purism on the basis this inhibits the linguistic emancipation of individuals. On balance, it appears these Māori youth may hold significantly less purist attitudes than current language policy and locally pervasive ideology.

The double bind of “Shame”: The colonial ramifications in Tahitian language revitalization

“…“How can it be that you don't know how to speak your reo tumu (mother tongue)?” Such criticism from older, fluent speakers further alienates the young from practicing with them. As with Māori language revitalization, the strict standards and expectations arising from elders' linguistic purism can become an obstacle to effective language renewal (Albury and Carter 2018; Harlow 2005). Combined with culturally specific ideas of inalienable ownership, linguistic purism adds another layer to the discourse of shame.…”

“…Even the Christian religion, now part of the Mā'ohi Indigenous identity EPM promotes, is a hybrid product of the Western missionary tradition and the unique Indigenous relationship with God. Concerning language, however, many Mā'ohi cultural defenders still expect the youth to speak their heritage language “correctly.” Language purism is known as a major obstacle where people support language revitalization but have varying degrees of language proficiency (Albury and Carter 2018; Chrisp 2005; Kelly‐Holmes, Moriarty, and Pietikäinen 2009; King and Hermes 2014). Especially in the Protestant context, where Mā'ohi cultural heritage is considered a theological means to connect with the Divine, language repatriation is also about restoring “an imagined glorious past” (Romaine 2006, 446).…”