Māori language lexicon development 1980-2018

In the past 30 years there has been considerable lexical development to support the development and implementation of the national Māori-medium curriculum in Māori-medium schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand. This lexication... [ view full abstract ]

In the past 30 years there has been considerable lexical development to support the development and implementation of the national Māori-medium curriculum in Māori-medium schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand. This lexication work is situated within the wider Māori language revitalization movement in Aotearoa, of which Māori medium education is a central component. The lexication process has been rapid and variable across the different curriculum areas; some areas have received considerable state support, others less so. This paper examines the contrasting lexication and modernising developments of two curriculum areas - pāngarau (mathematics) and tikanga-ā- iwi (social studies) - from meso and micro level language planning perspectives. In this presentation, it will be argued that the modernisation of language for Māori-medium schooling has been more directly influenced by political imperatives underpinning English-medium schooling and policy concerned with Māori student underachievement, rather than language and knowledge revitalisation per se. This paper will show that pāngarau education has been significantly more resourced and the lexication process more systematic than tikanga-a-iwi education because of the role of mathematics as a government educational priority area and also, relatedly, because of its high-stakes positioning.  The tensions between the distinctive needs and priorities of Māori-medium education and the on-going tendency in New Zealand to frame initiatives in terms of mainstream educational priorities will also be highlighted.