Public Service Radio, Indigenous Language, and Decolonization: Lessons from New Zealand

Abstract

As a part of 2016’s te wiki o te reo Māori (Māori language week), reporters on Radio New Zealand (RNZ), started signing off reports in te reo Māori (the Māori language). While some listeners praised the regular inclusion of te reo, others complained about the “over-Maorification” of the station. Through a rhetorical analysis, this article situates two key public complaints about te reo on RNZ within a history of colonialism. However, noting increased interest in Māori language courses, this article argues that, despite ongoing challenges, RNZ’s use of te reo also represents a “toddler step” toward decolonization.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Associate Professor Jo Smith at Victoria University of Wellington for her generous feedback on an earlier draft of this article. The author also thanks the reviewers for their extensive suggestions.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Emma Espiner is an award-winning writer and, at the time of writing, both a medical student/trainee doctor and a driving force behind the RNZ podcast Getting Better, which examines disparities in health care between Māori and non-Māori people in Aotearoa New Zealand (RNZ, 2020).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael S. Daubs

Michael S. Daubs is a Senior Lecturer in the Media and Communication Programme at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.