Hastings radio station launches new Māori language app

May 22, 2019

Hastings radio station launches new Māori language app

Pukapuka Korero Tahi is a new app for those interested in teaching and learning te reo Māori. Photo: Māori Television.

Māori research group Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and Hastings’ Radio Kahungunu launched a new te reo Māori app last week.

The app, called Pukapuka Korero Tahi, came from an NPM research project led by Dr Joseph Te Rito.

The project was made into a series of audiobooks before being printed as a physical book.

“The research project was called Kia areare ki ngā reo o ngā tipuna - Hearken to the voices of our ancestors,” said Dr Te Rito.

The project has now been developed into a new digital application for mobile devices, which allows the user to follow the conversation of two Māori women who were previously involved with the radio station.

The recordings have been combined with other radio audio archives spanning thirty years creating a user-friendly resource for those interested in teaching and learning te reo Māori.

Dr Te Rito said: “I knew the two selected elders well. They were both native speakers of Māori, and I knew they viewed their contribution of speaking Māori on the radio, as their takoha (gift) to their upcoming generations.

“It was given willingly and with love,” Dr Te Rito said

The creators are passionate about the longevity of te reo Māori and want to encourage the learning and sharing of the language at the heart of New Zealand.

“This project has traversed a number of years, has involved many people and appears to only now be reaching its full potential,” said Dr Te Rito.

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