7 day culture challenge day 5 - Language

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·@conradt·
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7 day culture challenge day 5 - Language
Welcome to my fourth day of the #7dayculturechallenge - for the rundown of why I started this new challenge check the introduction post [here](https://steemit.com/7dayculturechallenge/@conradt/7-day-culture-challenge-day-1-new-zealand-food-culture)

New Zealand has 3 official languages - English (the predominant langauge), Te Reo Maori (the language of the indigenous Maori people) and New Zealand sign language.

![alzheimers-3068938_1280.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTq7u8fuG3ARpgVp2hMU7MJfG65NqE2CsBgqLpG5mSbbg/alzheimers-3068938_1280.jpg)

<h1>Māori language</h1>
Unfortunately after the colonisation of New Zealand, the Te Reo language has been fairly supressed, only becoming an official langauge in 1987. According to a report by the Ministry of Social Development published in 2013, only 3.7% of New Zealands population could speak at a conversational level in Te Reo.

Although the use of Māori language has declined over the years there has been a revival due to many government initiatives such as Māori language week, the introduction of the Māori act and introduction of Māori television.

Te Reo is a very important part of our culture, and is a language only spoken in New Zealand - and I hope the governent does more in the future to encoruage people to speak it more, and offer more education so the langauge doesn't die out.

<h3>Some basic Te Reo phrases</h3>
 - Kia Ora - Hello
  - Whānau - Extended family
 - Aroha - Love
 - Kai - Food
 - Karakia - Prayer
 - Waka - Canoe
 - Ka Pai - Good Work


<h1>Slang words/terms from New Zealand a.k.a how to speak like a kiwi</h1>
New Zealanders (kiwis) have developed quite the vocabulary of slang terms over the years - below are just a few that are fairly common:

 - <b>Aye</b> - This word turns a statement into a question - e.g. if we had the statement 'Wer'e going to the movies tonight', we could change to a question by adding the word aye to the end 'We're going the movies tonight aye?'
 - <b>Bro </b>- This is a shortened version of brother, but is generally used when talking to friends, e.g. 'What are you doing this weekend bro?'
 - <b>Choice </b>- Great/awesome e.g. 'I made the rugyb team, choice!'
 - <b>She'll be right</b> - No problems/Don't worry about it/Everything will be ok e.g. 'The beach is going to be cold today, do you need a wetsuit?' 'Nah - She'll be right'
 - <b>heaps</b> - Used to descibe a large quantity of something e.g. 'I'm full because just ate heaps of chips'
 - <b>Mate</b> - Mate can be used when referring to a friend or an enemy (this ones a bit confusing and often comes from the tone of voice. e.g. with a friend 'Hey mate how are you?'. However with an enemy or someone you dislike you can also use the word mate, e.g. 'Dont speak to me like that mate!'
 - <b>Wop Wops</b> - Middle of nowhere/out in the country, e.g. 'That party last night was way out in the wop wops!'

As you can see New Zealand has quite a unique language culture - with the existence of Te Reo and New Zealand sign language alongside our own modified version of English. I hope you enjoyed reading and I look forward to reading about other cultures!


References:
http://socialreport.msd.govt.nz/cultural-identity/maori-language-speakers.html

<b>The rules:</b>

 - Write a post about an aspect of your culture - e.g. food, arts, dance, economy, money, governement etc
 - Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated
 - Mention three people who should do this on each day.
 - Tag it with #7dayculturechallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
 - Include a picture of something from your culutre related to yoru story if possible
 - Post these rules at the bottom of your post
 - Note - if you like the idea of this and would like to participate but werent nominated, feel free to join in and just mention that I nominated you :)
 - If you are still doing a different challenge and are nominated feel free to start this one once you have finished the last one!

Today I nominate:
@kiwideb
@anjkara
@kph

![DQmQzFM2sDp5wYpaoktgk9L8RzJCCwPgheNTHo23JUwfAGZ.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPeY2ebcMNHfpzuGbxVDWRRpNfKbLa3gndN3vX9pRowVe/DQmQzFM2sDp5wYpaoktgk9L8RzJCCwPgheNTHo23JUwfAGZ.jpeg)
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