August 4-10 is 'Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki 'Airani - Cook Islands Māori Language Week!
Cook Islands Māori is spoken by just over 26,000 people around the world, with 7000 of those in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Thanks to the Ministry for Pacific Peoples for their handy guides on common everyday phrases in Cook Islands Māori.
If you want to take your learning further, there is the Centre for Pacific Languages' "Speak Pacific" app, which lets you hear key phrases and greetings in Te Reo Māori o Kūki 'Airani.
We also want to highlight the many dialects spoken in the Cook Islands, such as...
...the Penryhn language, spoken by people from Tongareva, an astonishingly beautiful group of islands in the northern group of the Cook Islands.
and the Pukapuka language, which is actually closer to the Samoan and Tokelau languages, despite the Pukapuka islands being part of the Cook Islands.
All of these dialects make up the beautiful family of Polynesian languages. Some of these languages and dialects are in danger of being lost, and with them, the stories and wisdom of their people. Thank you for joining with us in highlighting Te Reo Māori o te Kūki 'Airani.
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