Language

World Languages Collection at Tūranga receives warm welcome

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“It is my first time to see Korean books in a library!” an elated Donggi Jun said when he saw the shelves of books in his native Korean, a part of the World Languages Collection Ngā Reo o te Ao / World Languages, Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4 of Tūranga.

Jun hails from South Korea but has been a Christchurch resident for years. “I’m so happy to see lots of popular authors. A lot of us miss our country. These books will be a source of comfort,” added the 58-year-old who also renewed his library membership card so he can start borrowing Korean books “as often as I can”.

Jun is only one of many migrants who were delighted to see the World Languages Collection since Tūranga opened on Friday 12 October. The collection aimed to reflect the thriving cultural diversity of Christchurch. It enables migrant communities to maintain a connection with their language and culture, as well as provide study materials for English language learners.

At present, the World Languages Collection at Tūranga comprises of books in 13 languages including Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Thai. In addition, it has magazines and periodicals in Afrikaans, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Russian. It also includes an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) section for English language learners.

Customer browsing the World Languages Collection, Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4, Opening day, Tūranga, Flickr TU-2018-10-12-136

Olivier Hoel, who left France to work in Christchurch a year ago, was thankful to find his beloved French titles housed at Tūranga:

“It was a great surprise when I saw them first at Peterborough Library and now, they’re here, more accessible in a such a lovely place.”

CoverVisitors to the city were equally impressed. “We are in the wrong city! How come you have this!?” a South African visiting from Wellington exclaimed while lifting an edition of the Afrikaans magazine Rooi rose from the rack. She was also able to find a book in the Afrikaans section written by a friend, quickly getting a snapshot for Instagram.

German tourist Horst Schnidt was also pleased. Looking up from reading the pages of German periodical Der Spiegel, he commented, “This new library is in itself amazing. But having items in various languages like German makes it more special.”

The collection has been well-used. An average of 30 items are being marked “used” every day, at times peaking up at 50. This doesn’t include the many more being borrowed. Many customers also joined the library or renewed their membership (like Jun) just to access the collection.

ESOL tours have proven to be quite popular as well. Over 350 individuals from various cultural backgrounds have been toured around Tūranga since its opening and shown World Languages materials (adult and children’s) including the eResources they can access from the library website. Among them were students from Hagley Community College, Papanui High School (Adult ESOL Department), and Wilkinson’s English School.

“The ESOL items are a big help to me,” said Chinese student Rita Xu who was also thrilled to see the Chinese books section, the most extensive in the collection. “My friends will be happy. I will tell them about it.”

The collection, however, is not only popular with English language learners but also with students of other languages. For instance, German language students from Hagley College were keen on the German books and magazines that could aid them master German.

No doubt, the World Languages Collection in Tūranga is a hit.  As Anne Scorgie from South Africa puts it, “Having this collection shows that Christchurch is really now recognising its growing diversity. It’s a great step.”

Hayley Concepcion and Crystal Betito
Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4, Tūranga

庆祝2018年新西兰中文周Celebrations in New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2018

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New Zealand Chinese Language Week is a Kiwi-driven initiative aiming at encouraging New Zealanders to discover Chinese language and culture. It was officially launched by Raymond Huo as a sitting Member of Parliament on 24 May 2014. This year New Zealand Chinese Language Week is on from 23 to 29 September. Explore all the events in the nationwide celebration during New Zealand Chinese Language Week.

New Zealand Chinese Language Week Celebrations at Shirley and Hornby Libraries

Coincidentally, Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival on 24 September and Confucius’ Birthday on 28 September fall during this year’s New Zealand Chinese Language Week. Christchurch City Libraries is collaborating with the Confucius Institute at the University of Canterbury to celebrate the two events.

Shirley Library

Our activities include paper cutting, calligraphy, plate painting, Chinese games, Chinese folk dancing, and learning basic Chinese greeting and numbers. Free, no bookings required. Recommended for all ages. Caregiver required.

Hornby Library

Come and celebrate Chinese Language Week with us at Hornby Library. Lead teacher, Fang Tian from the Confucius Institute will run a Chinese calligraphy taster and Cherry Blossom painting session. Suitable for all ages. FREE, no bookings required. Wednesday 26 September, 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Find out more.

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival中秋节

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th day of the 8th month of a lunar calendar year when the moon is believed to the biggest and fullest. Chinese people believe that a full moon is a symbol of reunion, harmony and happiness so Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. Mooncakes are the main characteristic food for this occasion. Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival was derived from the ancient rite of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn. Folklore about the origin of the festival is based on the ancient legend of Chang’e and her fateful ascent to the heavens after having swallowed an elixir pill.

Books and resources in the library related to Mid-Autumn Festival 图书馆有关中秋节的读物

Confucius’ Birthday孔子诞辰

Confucius, also known as Kong Qiu, is a great Chinese scholar, teacher and social philosopher. Confucius is believed to be born on 28 September, 551BC. He was living in a period regarded as a time of great moral decline. Working with his disciples, Confucius edited and wrote the classics and compiled Four Books and Five Classics 四书五经 to find solutions. In his life time, Confucius traveled throughout eastern China to persuade the official classes and rulers of Chinese states with the great moral teachings of the sages of the past. Although Confucius did not succeed in reviving the classics, his teachings formed as a dominant Chinese ideology, known as Confucianism, which values the concepts of benevolence仁, ritual仪, propriety礼. His teachings have had a profoundly influence on Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese thoughts and life for 2500 years.

Each year, Confucius’ birthday celebration ceremonies are held on the island of Qufu (Shangdong Province, Mainland China), the birthplace of Confucius. Outside Mainland China, Confucius’ birthday is also celebrated in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Japan. In Taiwan, Confucius’ birthday is set as a public holiday for teachers, known as Teachers’ Day, to memorise the first great teacher in the Chinese history.

  

Books and resources on Confucius in the library 图书馆有关孔子的读物

Chinese Language Collection

Chinese eResources

  • Overdrive — Chinese language eBooks中文电子书
  • Dragonsource — Chinese language magazines龙源中文杂志
  • Press Reader — Chinese language newspaper and magazines 在线中文报纸和杂志

Logo    

Resources for Learning Chinese

Programmes and services offered in Chinese at your library

Hong Wang
Network Library Assistant

Arrrrrr it be Talk like a Pirate Day on Wednesday 19 September

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Piratey Fun Day – Wednesday 19 September 3.30pm to 5pm

Ahoy maties… Come dressed in your pirate best for our fantastic treasure quest. We’ve also got a pirate-themed Storytimes, pirate names, dress-up competitions for children and adults, crafts, plus heaps more. Shiver me timbers, it’s gonna be huge, ye best be prepared to come and have fun!

View events in our calendar– Piratey Fun Day is on at Shirley Library, Upper Riccarton Library, Redwood Library, Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, Linwood Library
FREE, no bookings required. Caregiver Required. Recommended for all ages.

Mango’s Pirate Language Course

Ahoy mateys! If it’s pirate chatter ye be after, you’ve come to the right place. Mango’s Pirate Language Course will teach you everything you need to know to “parley” in perfect Pirate.

Don’t be a lily-livered landlubber, belay yer carousin’ and haul wind smartly. Get on to Mango Languages and find some booty. Take your language skills across the seven seas me hearty, and join in the conversation. Arrrre ye up for the challenge of becoming a swashbuckler!

What be yer Pirate name, me hearty? check out the Pirate name generator below!

Kīwaha: Te reo Māori phrases

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For Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori we’ve been suggesting ways to help improve your te reo Māori skills.

Learning kupu (words) and wetereo (grammar) are obviously quite important if you’re trying to strengthen your reo. But phrases (idioms or colloquial sayings) can also be really helpful and add a bit of flourish to your conversations.

Try out some of the these:

tapatapahi ana

Meaning: Flash, stylie, stylish, smart, with-it, outstanding, remarkable, inspired, creative, primo
– An idiom to express appreciation of attractiveness of something that has been created.

Everyday use:
Damien: Tapatapahi ana! Those are mean sunglasses Kat, where did you get them?

kei runga noa atu [koe]

Meaning: [You’re] top-notch! [You’re] great! [You’re] too much! [You’re] outstanding! [You’re] on to it! [You’re] the bomb!
– An idiom praising someone for his/her outstanding work.

Everyday use:
Denise: Man, I just cleaned up the worst mess in the public toilet!
Maatakiwi: auē, kei runga noa atu koe e hine! Far out that’s gross, but you’re really on to it Denise, awesome work!

me rawa ake

Meaning: Very soon, next minute

Everyday use:
Rochelle: Left my scooter outside the Dairy, mea rawa ake, someone stole it!

paia!

Meaning: Awesome

Everyday use:
Tania: Paia! Tūranga, the new central library opens on Friday 12th October, can’t wait!

āna

Meaning: (Interjection) yes, yes indeed, just so! Yes it is! Yeah, agreed
– a supportive response to a statement or question.

Everyday use:
Damien: Did you see the game on Saturday, man Joe Moody was on fire!
Kate: Āna! He was spectacular.

he raru kei te haere

Meaning: trouble is on the horizon / trouble is brewing
– an expression indicating a problem is about to occur.

Everyday use:
Alan: Oh heck, he raru kei te haere, look at Kim’s face.
Fiona: True! Might be a good time to go for a coffee.

me noa ake au!

Meaning: Just saying / my suggestion

Everyday use:
Julia: Bronwyn makes the best sausage rolls ever, me noa ake au!

Find out more

Throughout Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we’ll be blogging about ways you can help strengthen the reo.

In the library collection

Collated by Damien Taylor for Ngā Kaiāwhina 

Paraweta, Poo Bum, and stories in te reo

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Like most kids my son enjoys stories before bedtime (which is just as well because his mum is a librarian and he was going to be getting them regardless).

Like a lot of Kiwi parents I do my best to add some te reo Māori into the mix where I can, but my own Māori language knowledge is a bit patchy in places – I’m a work in progress. So how to expose my 4 year old to some te reo, but also read a story so we’ll both understand it and enjoy the experience?

I’ve found that reading te reo Māori versions of books we already know really well in English has been a fun way to do it. It helps if it’s a book that you’ve read so many times, you’ve practically got it memorised. That way you can “read” the English language version (out loud from memory), and then read the te reo version from the page.

Our latest success with this method has been with Stephanie Blake’s Poo Bum aka Paraweta, which has just come out in te reo.

Mother and son read Poo bum and Paraweta together

I let my tamaiti hold the original version and turn the pages of that one, while I hold the Māori language version, and he yells out “Paraweta!” at the appropriate points in the story.

Here are some other te reo Māori versions of children’s classics we’ve enjoyed that you might like to try:

   

Or try something from our Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori modern classic picture books list

If you’re a te reo beginner then start with simple stories like The very hungry caterpillar, Where’s Spot or even Kei te pehea koe? / How do you feel? (which is in both English and Māori and is really easy to follow).

Or try stories in English that incorporate some te reo Māori words like The kuia and the spider (because it’s never to early to learn words like “hōha“), or Row, kiwi, row your boat, which you can sing together and includes simple Māori greetings (and a full te reo version for more confident speakers/singers).

Even if I trip up on a word here and there I’ve found that as long as I’m doing the silly voices and engaging with the story, my son is pretty happy to have a te reo Māori story at bedtime, in fact… Paraweta is his new favourite.

Find out more

Throughout Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we’ll be blogging about ways you can help strengthen the reo.

In the library collection

Te Reo in the Whare

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Kia ora!

It’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) from September 10-16, and what a great opportunity that is for us all to celebrate and learn the beautiful Māori language. Kia kaha te reo Māori …

But what about if you’ve not got the time right now to learn a new language? What about if you’re so busy with work and whānau and friends that the idea of having to learn new words and new sentence structures is just way too hard. Well guess what, e hoa mā – it doesn’t have to be scary. You and your whānau can start on your reo journey from within the comfort of your own whare.

Everyday items around the house

What are some household objects you use all the time? What sorts of clothing and food items do you always have in the wardrobe or fridge? Find out the te reo Māori words for these items, and use them every day:

  • Where are my hū (shoes)?
  • I’ll meet you out at the waka (car)
  • Would you like some rīwai (potatoes)?

Keen to find out some common Māori kupu? Check out First Thousand Words in Māori or First Words in Māori.

Cover of First Thousand Words in Māori Cover of First Words in Māori

Instructions

You can use te reo Māori to give instructions to your tamariki and other whānau members. Do you feel a bit self-conscious, or think they mightn’t understand you? Guess what? You don’t need to worry about this anymore – there are lots of ways of giving instructions that you might already know, or that you can use with gestures to make sure that people can understand what you’re saying:

  • Whakarongo mai (Listen to me) – touch your ear
  • Haere mai (Come here) – beckon
  • Kia kaha (Be strong)

Cover of The Raupō phrasebook of modern MāoriScotty Morrison’s The Raupō Phrasebook of Modern Māori  has a great chapter on phrases and questions that you can use around the home, as well as lots of other useful phrases you can use at work, school, or play when you start feeling more confident.

Read books

Having some easy Māori language books at home is a great way to pick up some basic Māori words without even trying. If you’ve got tamariki – children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or even little next-door neighbours – get them together for a reading session. With so many children’s books available in te reo, you’ll be learning new words before you know it.

Have a look for Māori translations of old favourites, like Te Pāmu o Koro Meketānara (Old MacDonald had a Farm), or new stories like the Bud.e Pānui books for people just starting to read in Māori. And if you don’t quite feel confident enough to jump straight into full Māori books just yet, you can always try picture books with singalong CDs so you don’t need to worry if you don’t say the word absolutely right.

Cover of Te Rua Rāpeti Cover of Te Pāmu o koro Meketānara

Sing songs

Tamariki can also help you to learn some Māori by sharing the songs they learn at school.

  • Mā is white, Whero is red – learn the Māori names for colours
  • Mahunga, pakihiwi – have fun playing heads, shoulders, knees and toes

Check out Anika Moa’s two Songs for Bubbas CDs or Waiata Mai: Sing along with Aunty Bea to get started.

Use tools

Are you worried there are too many new words for you to actually remember any of them? Don’t worry – the folks at the Māori Language Commission have your back, and want to support you this Māori Language Week. Check out their collection of useful information and phrases, and find out more about Māori language and culture. They’ve even created some special resources for this year, so why not have a look at them, and challenge yourself to buy a coffee or a ticket for your ride to work, or find out what the wifi password is at your local cafe.

So take the plunge this Māori Language Week – kia kaha te reo – and include some Māori kupu into your conversations with these everyday words. Even by starting off with just a few words a day, you’ll start to build up a kete of Māori kupu to use in everyday conversations, and you’ll become more confident to use those words outside the whare. Over time, there will be more people using more te reo in all areas of daily life, and that is what we need for a strengthened, healthy, Māori language.

Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria – My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.

Find out more

Throughout Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we’ll be blogging about ways you can help strengthen the reo.

Strengthen your reo with waiata Māori

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Everyone loves and appreciates different forms of music;  whether it’s through singing, playing your favourite instruments and singing along, or by simply listening and feeling the heart of the music. The amazing thing about music is that you can hear it in any language and yet still feel the passion and story behind it.

Waiata, like other forms of music is a way to communicate. It serves a purpose, such as storytelling, to support, to teach, to warn, to urge others, or to mourn. It is beautiful and passionate, and its purpose only make these feelings stronger.

There are three main types of traditional waiata. These are waiata tangi (laments), waiata aroha (love songs) and oriori (lullabies). However, these are only some of the many forms of waiata; and it now spans across various music genres and themes from Alien Weaponry’s album ‘Tū ‘ ( a heavy metal band that sings completely in Te Reo,) to Maisey Rika‘s song ‘Tangaroa Whakamautai,’ from her album Whitiora, which is haunting and beautiful.

What is your favourite waiata? What does waiata mean to you?

Waiata is another way to help learn new words or a language. It helps build your memory by repeating lyrics and having a meaningful or catchy tune; and is a great tool for teaching tamariki.

Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga (Ministry of Education) has some awesome resources built on supporting te reo Māori by giving resources designed for learning and teaching in waiata. Hei waiata contains song sheets with the key, lyrics and tune, teaching suggestions and finally a free MP3 download of the waiata; and there is plenty to choose from!

Another way of getting to learn easy waiata is to listen to it; could be at home, in the shower, or in the car ride on the way to school. Anika Moa has two lovely albums with songs for children that are catchy, easy to sing to and are just plain fun!

You could also have a look at Māori Television’s “Waiata,” a showcase of original songs from Aotearoa’s contemporary artists.

Did you know we also have loads of resources of waiata right here in Christchurch City Libraries? There is various forms of enjoying waiata; could be as a CD, a lyric book, or a compilation of various formats e.g book and CD.

Check out some of these!

If you would like some more waiata inspiration give these a listen:

Find out more

Throughout Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we’ll be blogging about ways you can help strengthen the reo.

Kōrerorero mai – Join the conversation

Kia kaha te Reo Māori – Let the Māori Language be strong

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Since 1975 New Zealand has celebrated Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, recognising the Māori language as a unique taonga for all New Zealanders.

Christchurch City Libraries have supported the kaupapa of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori over the past years in a number of ways, endeavouring to promote the week as a time for learning and celebrating te reo Māori. Check out the Reo Māori option on our self-issue kiosks during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori this September.

The theme of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2018 is “kia kaha te Reo Māori – strengthening the Māori Language”. Over 30 years on from recognition as an official New Zealand language, there are now many ways we can strengthen our Māori Language skills. Whether it be from the comfort of our home using online resources provided by groups such as Kotahi Mano Kaika – the Ngāi Tahu Reo Māori initiative or Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Commission; or attending free classes offered at organisations such as Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, the opportunities are endless.

Let’s be honest, it isn’t easy learning a second language, but nothing worthwhile ever came easy. It is a doorway to another world view, another perspective. It is a journey and like all journeys there is a lot to be discovered about this language and about ourselves.

Te Reo Māori (the Māori Language) is not a ‘one week, once a year’ language, it is a living language and as such it should be used at home, at work, at school, everywhere and anywhere. As the saying goes ’a little word can save a language’, so why not give it a go, start small and aim big! Help us strengthen te Reo Māori within our community, within our whānau (family) but most of all within ourselves!

Nā reira, kia kaha te Reo Māori – karawhiua! — therefore let the Māori Language be strong – give it a go!

Maatakiwi Wakefield
Kaitakawaenga

Recommended title: Māori at home by Scotty and Stacey Morrison

Cover of Māori at homeMāori at home by Scotty and Stacey Morrison is a fantastic starting point if you are looking to increase your usage of te reo Māori at home. With 18 different sections, the book covers handy words and phrases to use around behaviour and chores, before and after school, at the playground or supermarket.

One of my favourite sections in this book is the one on Te Ao Matahiko – The Digital World. As our families and children embrace the latest technological advancements keeping up with all the new kupu becomes quite important. With that in mind I have found Māori At Home really useful in our whare. A few of my favourite handy phrases from this book:

Tohu kare-ā-roto – Emoji
Kei te mātaki whitiāhua i a TiriAta – I’m watching videos on YouTube.
Kāti te whirinaki ki ngā hangarau – Stop continuously playing on your electronic devices.

Māori at home is an easy read and a very functional resource. If you haven’t already I encourage you to have a read, introduce a new Māori phrase into your family’s daily routine.

Find out more

Throughout Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we’ll be blogging about ways you can help strengthen the reo.

Embracing Te Reo: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018

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Jeanette King, Hana O’Regan (head manager of Oranga at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu), lecturer Hēmi Kelly and writer/broadcaster Miriama Kamo gathered early on Sunday morning to kōrero about one of our official languages, te reo Māori.

All agreed that there has been a positive shift in the last few years towards te reo, a gathering of momentum or fruition from the hard work from the past decades. There has been a nationwide increase in enrolments of those learning te reo Māori, and presence in the media has been increasing, with reporters all the way up to our Prime Minister using te reo on TV and radio. Exciting times!

Miriama was keen to capitalise on this goodwill by starting to teach our history properly in schools to understand what we as a country have gotten wrong or right, to understand who we are and where we come from through an historical perspective. For her pronunciation is a key place to start: “For me I love to hear people trying, even if you get it wrong your heart’s in the right place. This is our official language! We should be owning it, wanting to speak it.” This is especially important for those with a Māori name: “If you don’t pronounce my name properly it’s not really my name, is it?” Something close to my heart as someone whose name is also frequently mispronounced.

Hana thought promoting te reo as a normal part of our community is an important step in getting over our fear of bilingualism or multilingualism. We’re all still caught up in the historical narrative that learning more than one language compromises our ability to use our first tongue, or that te reo isn’t useful, which isn’t supported by the evidence at all: we’re actually doing our children a disservice by raising them monolingual. “Bilingualism is a benefit to everyone — it doesn’t matter what language it is, but the positive impact is compounded [with te reo] because it’s connected with our history and the land.” Hēmi agreed, pointing out that as New Zealanders none of us are that far removed from te reo Māori as we are surrounded by Māori place names and kupu that are in common usage.

When Jeanette asked about those who feel hesitant to learn and speak te reo due to worrying about appropriating yet another aspect of Māori culture, Hana shook her head. “I can’t even comprehend a negative reaction to someone learning to speak Māori. Every person who uses te reo is actually showing not just respect but is doing their bit to make sure this important part of our heritage is still around.” In fact as more people learn te reo and we hear more around us, the easier and quicker it will be to learn, and the easier it will be to find teachers who can teach te reo. The struggle to find qualified teachers is one major obstacle for immediately making te reo Māori compulsory in schools, so a graduated approach is recommended. Making sure all graduating teachers have a certain proficiency would be a good first step.

It takes a short time to demolish a house but it takes a lot longer to built it — Christchurch knows this! It takes longer to reconstruct something that has been destroyed. Don’t get disappointed by the first hurdle, or pot hole or road block. Good things take time and Aotearoa is worth it. — Hana O’Regan

This goes also for those struggling to learn te reo — just because you’re not amazingly fluent straight away doesn’t mean you should give up! Every bit you learn is helping those around you as well as yourself. Hēmi: “Everybody in this room is a change agent.”

To help you make a start, here’s one kupu from Hēmi Kelly’s A Māori Word a Day:

hua (n) product, result, outcome, benefit, gain.

He nui ngā hua o te mōhio ki ngā reo e rua. There are a lot of benefits in being bilingual.

Mā te mahi ngātahi e kitea ai ngā hua. Through working together, the results will be seen.

Find works in our collection by:

Follow our coverage of WORD Christchurch Festival 2018

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week 2018

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This year Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is on from 10 to 16 Mahuru (September).

The theme for this year’s Māori Language Week is –

Kia kaha te reo Māori – Let’s make the Māori language strong

Join in with Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi (Christchurch City Libraries) and our efforts to strengthen te reo Māori.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori events at the library

We’ll be celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with a range of events taking place during te wiki.

For kids/whānau

During te wiki our normal Wā Kōrero (Storytime) sessions for preschoolers will have added stories and songs in te reo Māori.

We’ll be having a couple of Ngā Pakiwaitara (bilingual storytimes) sessions with even more te reo, delivered by Whaea Rochelle from our Ngā Ratonga Māori team.

And our wharewhare (housie) event at Linwood Library, 3.30-4.30pm Thursday 13 September is perfect for the whole whānau to join in with.

Whaea Rochelle is the star of bilingual storytimes during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Kapa haka

If you enjoy some waiata (and why wouldn’t you?) head along to one of the kapa haka performances by local tamariki that we’ll be hosting during the week.

Court Theatre in the Shelves

As part of New Zealand Theatre Month, during September actors from the Court Theatre will read extracts from their favourite Kiwi plays – including a very special Māori Language Week performance which will take place on Thursday, 13 September at Upper Riccarton Library at 10.30am, and at South Library at 3.30pm.

After their readings, the performers will tell you why they’re drawn to the piece they perform, what it is to be a theatre practitioner in this country and answer any questions you might have. So, come along to see the best Kiwi theatre amongst the shelves at your local library.

Te Reo Māori at the library

Adding te reo Māori to your library experience can be as straightforward as the tap of a screen – why not simply try out the reo Māori option on our māu e tuku (self issue) machines?

Using māu e tuku/self issue
There are a variety of language options on our self-issue machines including Te Reo Māori.

Or learn a new kupu (word) by reading our bilingual library signs or even just learn to say the Māori name of your local library.

Practise your reo at a library café

Order your drink of choice in te reo Māori at any of the cafés in our libraries (South, Upper Riccarton and Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre) or at The Kitchen café on the first floor of the Christchurch City Council building on Hereford Street and from 10-16 September you’ll get an extra sweet treat to go with your drink. Need help with how to place your cafe order in te reo? Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission) has produced this fantastic guide to awhi you.

Find Te Reo Māori resources at the library

Cover of Māori at home

There are many resources available for anyone wanting to strengthen their te reo Māori knowledge, for both adults and children.

In our catalogue

We’ve also made lists of modern classic picture books in Te Reo Māori and Māori stories for older children.

Some other places you might like to try include:

If you know of other resources, events or initiatives in Ōtautahi to help people celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, please feel free to let us know about them in the comments below.