To obtain more information regarding the origins and the history of Te Reo Māori, read Dr. Ranginui Walkers book; Ka whawhai tonu matou:
Walker, R., Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End (Auckland, Penguin Books, 2004)
Walker, R., Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End (Auckland, Penguin Books, 2004)
1. (stative) be summer.
2. (noun) summer.
Hei tauira: Example -Te ataahua hoki o tēnei ao raumati = The most beautiful summers day
To find a definition of a word such as this; Look up Te Aka Māori - English, English - Māori Dictionary At the web site: http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/
This picture can be found at the web link:
MANAAKITANGA:
Definitions of manakitanga in the context of displaying humility and people who live by certain codes that reflects the qualities of a person who holds a lot of mana or who are those rangatahi, like myself, who are pursuing these codes of discipline.
Quote: Manakitanga explained by Rangatira, Professor Whatarangi Winiata, who is also President of the Maori Party.
Manaakitanga
"Manaakitanga is the principle of elevation of the personal qualities of others with whom we have a relationship. The words mana and aki become immediately obvious. Mana can be described as the personal power and prestige that individuals have. The word aki means to uplift or encourage. Manaakitanga therefore can be seen as a desirable principle of pedagogy where by the positive actions of the tutor the mana or personal qualities of the student are elevated and by the achievement of academic outcomes the mana of the tutor is likewise elevated. This state of mutual mana enhancement is an expression of the tikanga of ‘utu’ or reciprocal action. This definition can be found on the web link: http://geoteachers.blogspot.com/2006/10/manaakitanga-two-further-explanations.html
My own personal definition of Manaakitanga
The behaviour that acknowledges the mana of others as having equal or greater importance than your own. It is the division of three syllables, that is; Mana – ki - tanga which can be broken up into the division of three words ‘mana’ ‘ki’ te ‘tangata’ which translates into the English equivalent, the act of giving ultimate respect to another. Manakitanga is the act giving mutual respect to another through the expression of hospitality and generosity to humble yourself in the presence of another. It is a code of conduct, a code that a warrior or a person with a particular character either learns to live by or lives and displays. That is a man of mana, a person of good character and humility.
My definition of manakitanga: A servant of his tupuna (Te Rarawa, Ngati Mutunga, Te Arawa
Ehara au i te rangatira, i te tohunga ranei, engari penei oku wakaaro o te kupu ‘manakitanga’ i tenei wa.
Tēnā tātou katoa,
The topic which I would like to critically assess, is the subject of the Māori language in schools. First and foremost, I would like to take a look at Māori world view or Te Ao Māori and my ideas about teaching and learning a language properly.
In my experience as a second language learner, I believe that in order to have a greater knowledge or to become a competent 'language expert', one must have knowledge of not only how to speak that language but also, have a greater understanding of such things as; that culture and heritage, world view, perspectives, beliefs and history in order to think in that language. Many people have mentioned to me, that their child is fluent in a particular language, however, to my knowledge, there are different levels of proficiency in a language. For me, one who has knowledge of a language but has to think through their first language in order to produce their thoughts in the second language, is a not full speaker or a fluent speaker of that language. For me, there are different levels of proficiency that needs to be recognised.
So for me, in order to truly know a language to the best of their ability, one must learn to think in that language. That means they should be learning all those things that make up that culture or at least some of it if they are going to learn properly.