Editing Māori language revival (section)

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The '''Māori language revival''' is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the use of the [[Māori language]] (''te reo Māori''). Primarily in [[New Zealand]], but also in places with large numbers of expatriate New Zealanders (such as [[London]] and [[Melbourne]]), the movement aims to increase the use of Māori in the home, in education, government, and business. The movement is part of a broader revival of [[tikanga Māori]] (Māori culture, cultural habits and practices) in what has been called the [[Māori renaissance]].

Until World War II, most [[Māori people]] spoke Māori as their first language. But by the 1980s, fewer than 20 per cent of Māori spoke the language well enough to be classed as native speakers. The causes of the decline included the switch from using Māori to using English compulsorily in schools and increasing urbanisation, which disconnected younger generations from their extended families—in particular their grandparents, who traditionally played a large part in family life. As a result, many Māori children failed to learn their ancestral language, and generations of non-Māori-speaking Māori emerged.

In response, Māori leaders initiated Māori-language recovery programs such as the '''kōhanga reo''' ("[[Language nest|language nests]]") movement,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kohanga.ac.nz/ |title=Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust|access-date=2019-04-10|quote=Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board was established in 1982 and formalised as a charitable trust in 1983. The Mission of the Trust is the protection of Te reo, tikanga me ngā āhuatanga Māori by targeting the participation of mokopuna and whānau into the Kōhanga Reo movement and its Vision is to totally immerse Kōhanga mokopuna in Te Reo, Tikanga me ngā āhuatanga Māori.}}</ref> which, beginning in 1982, immersed infants in Māori from infancy to school age. In 1989, official support was given for [[kura kaupapa Māori]]—primary and secondary Māori-language immersion schools.