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Article: Te Reo Maori: The Past 20 Years and Looking Forward [1].
- Article from:
- Oceanic Linguistics
- Article date:
- June 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 University of Hawaii Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This paper outlines the current population situation of Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand as a backdrop to the developments of the Maori language revitalization efforts over the past two decades, and then traverses some issues that will affect the language as it moves into the new millennium.
MAORI POPULATION. In 1840 when the Maori people signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the British Crown, Maori was the main ethnic group,with a population numbering between 200,000 and 250,000. But by the turn of the century, swamped by land-hungry British colonists and the outbreak of wars and diseases, the Maori population had fallen to a low of 42,000. A memorial stands on One ...