Karangahia ai te reo o te iwi Māori, ko te reo Māori, ko te reo rānei. Ko te reo Māori te reo o te iwi Māori o Aotearoa, koia tētahi o ngā reo ōkawa o Aotearoa, me te reo Ingarihi, me te Reo Rotarota o Aotearoa. Nō te tau 1987 ka whakamanatia te reo Māori hei reo ōkawa o Aotearoa.
Te nui kaikōrero
Kei ngā tatauranga o te tau 2013 nui iti ake i te haurima (e 21.3%) o te iwi Māori ka kōrero Māori. Ko te tokomaha o ngāi Māori he kōrero Māori, 125,352. Ko te huinga katoa o ngā tāngata kōrero Māori, Māori mai, tauiwi mai, ka eke te rahinga ki te 148,395,(e 3.7% o te taupori). E ai ki ngā tatauranga o te tau 2013, 38.8% o ngā tāngata Māori e 65 tau neke ake te pakeke kei te matatau ki te kōrero Māori. Heoi, o te iwi Māori kei raro i te 15 tau te pakeke, e 16.6% anake ka matatau ki te kōrero Māori.
Te whānau reo
He pekanga te reo Māori nō te whānau reo e kīia nei he Austronesian, arā, he reo ka kitea puta noa i te tonga mā rāwhiti o Ahia, pakaru mai ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Ko te reo Māori i hua ake i ngā reo maha o Poronihia, me kī, i te kāhui reo Tahitic, arā, mai Tahiti, ngā Kuki Airani, me ngā reo o Tuamotu. Tino whanaunga te reo Māori ki te reo o te iwi Moriori o Wharekauri.
Ngā pū o te reo tuhi a te Māori
Tekau mā rima ngā reta i te pū Māori :
- e waru ngā orokati: ko h, k, m, n, p, r, t me w
- e rua ngā digraphs: ko ng me wh
- e rima ngā oro puare: a, e, i, o, u.
E rua ngā momo oro puare, ko te oro puare roa me te oro puare poto. E ai ki ngā tikanga o ēnei rā mō te tuhi i te reo Māori, ko te tohutō ka tohu ki te oro puare roa, arā, a, e, i o, u. I roto i ngā tikanga tuhi o ngā rā ki mua, kāore he tohu e mōhio ai te kai-pānui ko hea ngā oro puare roa, ko hea ngā oro puare poto; he mea whakahuarua rānei ngā oro puare i mua, inā rā, aa, ee, ii, oo, uu. Whakamahia tonutia ai e ngā iwi o Waikato tēnei tikanga tuhi tatū rawa ki ēnei rā.
Te mita o te reo i tēnā rohe, i tēnā rohe
E toru ngā rohenga matua o te reo Māori ki Aotearoa: ko te mita o te rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui, ko te mita o te taha uru o Te Ika-a-Māui, me te mita o Te Wai Pounamu. Ko te whakapae, i hua te mita o Te Wai Pounamu mai i tērā o te rāwhiti o Te Ika-a-Māui. Ko te reo Moriori o Wharekauri, i whānau mai pea i te mita o te reo o Te Wai Pounamu.
Kei tēnā whaitua he whakahua i te reo, kei tēnā whaitua he whakahua i te reo. Whakahuatia ai e Ngāi Tūhoe te oro ‘ng’, ko ‘n’; ko tā Ngāi Tahu whakahua i te oro ‘ng’ he ‘k’. Kei ngā iwi o te awa o Whanganui me te maunga o Taranaki te whakahuanga i te oro ‘wh’ he ‘w’, ko te glottal stop, hei kapi. Ko te whakahua a ngā iwi o ētahi whaitua o te raki i te oro ‘wh’ he ‘h’, hei tauira, ka huaina te kupu ‘whakahaere’ ko ‘hakahaere’.
