PRIVATE SECTOR

The private sector can be defined as that part of the economy that is under private ownership and control, as opposed to the government. The private sector includes all privately owned corporations, small businesses,  professional firms, and non-commercial organisations such as unions and non-profit agencies

WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE A MĀORI LANGUAGE PLAN?

Official Language

Māori and English are official languages of New Zealand so New Zealand is in a sense officially bilingual. In theory, official bilingualism gives priority to English and Māori, and ensures that questions relating to services in these two languages are systematically addressed.
(Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Blueprint for a Languages Policy: New Zealand Public Service, May 1994, p5)

Being an official language means that Māori language can be spoken in Court and other official places like Parliament. It also means that those who want to converse with the Public Service in Māori should be able to do so.

Parts of New Zealand English are rooted in Māori lexicon and it is not uncommon to hear the Māori language used or referenced in speech.  This development is reflected in the recently published Oxford Māori Words in New Zealand English.

Better Business
Māori Language in the Private Sector

Organisations are used to planning to meet their goals and objectives, as this helps ensure that their business operates smoothly.  Māori language planning can be treated as any other planning exercise to contribute to “better business” practice.  Devoting time and effort to Māori language planning as well as strategic planning, financial planning, and administrative planning will assist you to increase internal capacity and to improve relationships with your clients.

If the Māori speaking population continues to increase, as it is projected to do so, then it is logical to assume that the demand for Māori language services will also increase. Planning now will ensure that your organisation has the capacity to meet the potential demand for bilingual services in the future.Being prepared now will put you ahead of others and could give you an edge in your business.

Māori is an official language of New Zealand, and while it is up to private businesses to choose what languages they use in the course of their own business, there are many examples where incorporating the Māori language has provided commercial benefit to private organisations.  For example, Progressive Enterprises Ltd’s Celebrate New Zealand campaign which earlier this year gave supermarket shoppers a free Māori phrase book.  The Māori language booklet provided an effective advertising strategy to invoke national pride and encouraged consumers to buy ‘local products’.  It also encouraged familiarity with Māori language and reinforcing New Zealand’s diverse heritage.

(visit Progressive  Enterprizes Limited website: www.3guys.co.nz  )

The provision of basic bilingual signage in shops is an effective way of supporting the Māori language, particularly in regions with significant Māori populations (for example, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Northland. In 2004, a privately owned food market in Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast was profiled by several news media because of the bilingual signage in the shop. Not only did the signs acknowledge the needs of his major client group, but also provided an example to the rest of the country and overseas of the special identity New Zealand has.

Māori language and culture give a point of difference that is unique to New Zealand and this can be utilised by the private sector to provide a commercial advantage, as well as supporting Māori language regneration.

Bilingual Organisations

What is a Bilingual Organisation?
A bilingual organisation is one that has the capacity to operate in two languages, not one in which all employees have to be bilingual.

Official bilingualism gives priority to English and Māori, and ensures that questions relating to services in these two languages are systematically addressed.

Vision and Goals
The process of becoming a bilingual organisation can be relatively straight forward if you have a vision, and set realistic and achievable goals. Your vision can be as wide-ranging and long term as you like. The goals you choose will support the achievement of your vision and should be broken up into short, medium and long-term goals.

For example, an organisation that provides information services might choose the following as their vision and goals:

Building Goodwill

The Māori speaking population, ranging from those who are highly fluent to those who are beginning to learn the language, is increasing.  Added to this is the large section of the total New Zealand population that have positive attitudes towards Māori language whether they speak it or not. Engendering goodwill by recognising and using Māori language in your business and marketing strategies can benefit both businesses and consumers.

For example, the appropriate use of Māori words can form part of an effective communications strategy.  A company that has a policy to answer its phones with the greeting “kia ora” or “kia ora – good morning” creates goodwill that can be translated into better customer relationships.  Likewise, a television advertisement that includes correctly pronounced Māori words can have a similar beneficial effect.

Alternatively, the inappropriate use or pronunciation of Māori words can have an undesirable result.  The policies and style guides that make up part of a Māori language plan can ensure that your business is using Māori language consistently and correctly.

Creating a National Identity

Māori language and culture are a significant and essential part of our national identity. Māori language can be a taonga, a source of pride and a means of significant communication for all New Zealanders.

Internationally, New Zealand is automatically associated with things Māori.  Māori language will always be central to Māori culture, but it also contributes significantly to New Zealand’s unique identity in the world.  For example the haka, the national anthem and the song Pōkarekare ana are heard throughout the world wherever there are New Zealanders.Māori language is becoming more and more a part of New Zealand’s national and international identity. One of the signs of this acceptance is when huge mulitnational companies such as Microsoft begin to produce Māori versions of common software.

Contribution to Māori Language Regeneration

The Government has a Māori Language Strategy that actively encourages Māori language use in the public arena and as an ordinary means of daily communication.  By incorporating basic Māori language salutation in written or oral business transactions, private businesses will be supporting the Strategy’s long-term outcome to regenerate the Māori language.

Examples of what private sector businesses and companies can do to support Māori  language regeneration include:

• promoting its general use in the work place through language policies and plans which promote the use of Māori;
• increasing the number of businesses and companies who can respond to customers who wish to converse in Māori; and
• increasing visibility and status of the language.

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