The International Decade of Indigenous Languages
2022 marked the beginning of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) signalling a decade dedicated to policy reform, recognition, revitalisation and redress of historical wrongdoings of and to Indigenous Languages. But what exactly is this, and why has it been set for a Decade??
What is the International Decade of Indigenous Language?
In 2019, the International Decade of Indigenous Languages was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in an effort to highlight the need to revitalise Indigenous Languages on a global scale.?
This Decade will focus on constitutional-level recognition of Indigenous Languages, including its importance to Culture, Society, Human Wellbeing, Biodiversity and much more.
Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) is the principle representative for New Zealand in these efforts. Their aim is to build and support initiatives within New Zealand which uphold and accelerate the growth of this decade.
Furthermore, the Chair of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori, Professor Rawinia Higgins, acts as a Pacific Representative within the United Nations Global Taskforce who will help identify and grow oppurtunities to preserve, and revitalise our Indigenous Languages across the Pacific.
This Decade focuses on the need:
And much more.
Why is it important?
Indigenous Languages across the Globe are heading on a trajectory to extinction or serious endangerment, with estimates suggesting that 90 to 95 percent of the World’s 6,000 languages will be extinct by the end of this century, majority of which are indigenous languages including te reo Māori and other languages from across Te Moana Nui ā-Kiwa.??
Therefore, the International Decade of Indigenous Languages seeks to address and reverse these estimates.
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What has contributed to the decline of Indigenous Languages globally?
So, how have Indigenous Languages come to the point of endangerment and extinction?
Many Indigenous Languages have historically, and continue to be, structurally, legally, institutionally, and politically marginalised to the point where Indigenous Cultures as a whole, are destroyed. The perpetuation of these factors over time, have intercepted the intergenerational transmission of indigenous language - a key factor in the continuation of languages, and culture as whole.
For us here in Aotearoa, we are well-aware of the devastating impacts of colonisation on te reo Māori. With legal and constitutional instruments such as the Native Schools Act, the Land Confiscation Act, the Tohunga Suppression Act and many other modes of destruction enacted upon Te Ahurea Māori, it is no surprise that te reo Māori has suffered immense trauma. As a result of this trauma, only 25% of people were fluent in Te Reo Māori in 1975, compared to the 1900’s where 95% of people were fluent. Since then, the subsequent generations have fought, and continue to fight, for our language and its ongoing continuation.
Many notable outcomes that have had wide-spread, positive impacts on the reclaiming of Te Reo Māori include Te Pētihana Reo Māori which recognised and officiated the importance of te reo Māori in the eyes of the Crown. From Te Pētihana Reo Māori came the Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa movements, all of which have produced tens of thousands more te reo Māori speakers and therefore, tens of thousands more opportunities for our language to be transmitted throughout the generations.?
Indigenous Languages thriving
The International Decade of Indigenous Languages is therefore an opportunity for global citizens, governments and stakeholders alike to address historical and ongoing counts of indigenous language destruction, to allow rediscovery and revitalization of indigenous language, and most importantly, to create a future in which indigenous languages are prosperous and indigenous culture thrives.
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Principal Advisor Lived Experience Hauora Maori Services HNZ
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