Tēnā koutou - hello everyone.

I’m on a personal journey to learn more about te reo and the Māori world, and it’s great to have you travel with me.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been answering questions sent in to us, mainly around the meanings of words we hear often in conversation, or on the news.

This week, I received the question: Are there swear words in te reo Māori?

For me, the better question to explore is, are there words or phrases in the te reo language that could be considered offensive?

Then, my next questions are, what makes them offensive, and why would we want to use them?

Being a journalist, I first went to the Broadcasting Standards Authority to check out the results of their latest survey on offensive language. It’s an interesting read.

The results show that as a nation, we’re changing in how and why we take offence.

I noted two particular trends. Some “traditional” swear words and blasphemies have become more acceptable to the general population here in Aotearoa. However, perceptions of offense relating to bigotry are changing significantly. Words with their roots in bigotry are becoming less and less acceptable, to the point where new words are being added to the BSA’s lists.

For the first time, te reo swear words have been included. The Māori Dictionary describes pōkokohua as a very strong curse, an insulting swear word, an expression of anger.  Although the literal translation of a boiled head doesn’t really capture the strength of emotion and the context of why it is offensive. But it most certainly is in a traditional te reo context because the head is tapu - and we learned about the significance of tapu last week.

To boil someone’s head would have been the ultimate insult.

Warning: I’m about to use some racially offensive words.

There are still some aspects to all this I find quite shocking. The BSA survey results highlight the falling number of people who find racial or homophobic slurs acceptable - however almost ten percent of respondents still used words like ‘nigger’ or ‘chink’ in all contexts, and over 16 percent regularly used the word ‘coconut’.

The other aspect I have thought about is that when learning a new language, why would we feel the need to learn how to be offensive?

We absolutely should be understanding and discussing what we find offensive, and why. 

These sorts of conversations need to happen in order to build more cohesive communities, particularly as Aotearoa becomes increasingly multicultural and diverse. I found the BSA survey to be a fascinating snapshot of social attitudes in our country. 

I would like to get to the point in my learning journey where I can joke and banter in te reo Māori. I won’t intentionally offend.

I’m learning te reo because I want to understand more about the wonderful place I live, its fascinating history, its people and the language my mother spoke when she was alive.

I am also learning a lot from Māori traditions, customs and view of the world. Concepts such as whanaungatanga, the importance of family, manaakitanga, caring, and the importance of caring for our environment, starting with our own neighbourhood.

Simple acts like using Māori names and words make a difference. It’s a bit like somebody walking into a room and using your name, it shows respect and care.

Why are you learning te reo? 

Kia pai te wiki. Have a great week.

Check out te wiki o te reo Māori here