Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008

Cultural identity

Te reo Māori speakers
Language retention

ISBN 978-0-478-33506-4 (Print) 
ISBN 978-0-478-33507-1 (Online)

The other sections and the appendices of the Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008 can be found at www.msd.govt.nz
Cultural identity
Desired outcomes
All children and young people are able to participate in the culture and values important to them and their families and to feel secure with their identity.
Introduction
Culture refers to the set of customs, practices, languages, values and world views that is learned and shared within social groups such as those defined by ethnicity, region, nationality or common interests. Culture can be seen as “the language through which we learn to read the world”, the collection of learned assumptions that group members use to cope with their world and with one another. Active participation in one’s culture promotes a secure cultural identity, which in turn can be linked to positive outcomes in wellbeing. 

Cultural identity is not exclusive; it can vary according to context and over time. New Zealand is a diverse society. It has a bicultural Māori and Anglo-Celtic foundation and many people from the wider Pacific and Asia have settled here. An increasing proportion of young New Zealand residents were born overseas or to parents of different ethnicities. As they grow older they may choose to adopt more than one ethnic, cultural or national identity. A recent New Zealand study of migrant youth showed that while ethnic identity was stronger than national identity in the first generation, successive generations increasingly saw themselves as “New Zealanders” and in second generation migrants, national and ethnic identity were equally strong.

New Zealand is a signatory to a number of international treaties that protect people’s rights to participate in their culture and encourage respect for cultural diversity. These include a recent United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convention aimed at promoting the diversity of cultural expression, to which New Zealand acceded in October 2007. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990) provides that people who belong to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities shall not be denied the right to enjoy their culture, practice their beliefs and use their language. 

Language is an essential ingredient of culture and a key to cultural identity. New Zealand has a particular responsibility under the Treaty of Waitangi and international law to protect and promote te reo Māori as the indigenous language of New Zealand. Te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language are recognised by law as official languages, along with English. As a Pacific nation, New Zealand also has a regional responsibility to promote and protect other Pacific languages.

Indicators
The two indicators in the Cultural Identity domain both concern language. 

Te reo Māori speakers is an indicator of the health of the Māori language. It measures the extent to which young Māori under the age of 25 years can hold an everyday conversation in the Māori language and includes additional information on fluency in te reo Māori among 15–24 year olds. The ability to speak Māori is essential to the practice of Māori culture, particularly on the marae.

Language retention is a similar measure for ethnic groups with a range of languages other than Māori and English. Being able to speak the language associated with one’s ethnicity is an indicator of the ability to retain and pass on one’s culture and traditions to future generations. For each ethnic group, New Zealand born and overseas born young people are compared.

Te reo Māori speakers
Definition
The proportion of Māori children under 15 years and Māori young people aged 15–24 who can speak te reo Māori, as recorded in the New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings 2006. The ability to speak te reo Māori is defined in the Census as being able to hold a conversation about a lot of everyday things in the Māori language.
Relevance
Māori language is a central component of Māori culture and an important aspect of participation and identity. The Māori language also forms part of the broader cultural identity and heritage of New Zealand and, in 1987, was granted the status of an official language of New Zealand.
Current level
In the 2006 Census, 18 percent of Māori under 15 years reported that they were able to hold a conversation in te reo Māori, down from 20 percent in 2001. In the 15–24 year-old age group, 23 percent of Māori could speak to te reo, compared with 24 percent five years earlier. 

In total, 20 percent of Māori aged under 25 were able to speak te reo Māori in 2006, compared with 28 percent of Māori aged 25 and over.

Further information is available from the two surveys of the health of the Mäori language, conducted in 2001 and 2006.  These show that the proportion of Mäori aged 15–24 with some level of speaking proficiency increased from 43 percent in 2001 to 55 percent in 2006.  The proportion of 15–24 year olds with a high proficiency level more than doubled, with 13 percent reporting that they could speak Mäori “well” or “very well” in 2006, compared with 6 percent in 2001. This data is not directly comparable with the census data because of differences in the way the information is collected and because the survey is designed to measure proficiency in te reo, rather than simply asking whether people can converse in the language.

Figure CI1.1: Proportion of Māori children and young people who can speak te reo Māori, by age group, 2001 and 2006
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings
Sex differences
Young Māori females were slightly more likely than young Māori males to be able to speak te reo Māori in 2006. This sex difference was apparent across all age groups. Of all Māori under 25 years, 21 percent of females were able to speak te reo Māori, compared with 19 percent of males.
Age differences
The proportion of young Māori able to hold a conversation in te reo Māori in 2006 increased with age, from 14 percent of those under five years to 23 percent of those aged 20–24.

Table CI1.1 Proportion (%) of Māori children and young people who can speak te reo Māori, by age group and sex, 2006
Sex	Age group (years)	
	0–4	5–9	10–14	15–19	20–24	Under 25	
Males 	13.6	18.1	19.8	21.0	22.2	18.6	
Females 	14.2	19.5	23.1	24.9	24.1	20.9	
Total 	13.9	18.8	21.4	22.9	23.2	19.7	
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings

Regional differences
Young Māori who live in areas with high proportions of Māori residents are the most likely to be able to converse in te reo Māori. The regions with the highest proportions of Māori speakers in the under 25 age group in 2006 were Gisborne (28 percent), Bay of Plenty (27 percent), Hawkes Bay (23 percent), Northland and Waikato (both 22 percent). The regions with the lowest proportions were West Coast (10 percent), Tasman (11 percent) and Marlborough (12 percent). 

Language retention
Definition
The proportion of children and young people aged under 25 who can speak the “first language” (excluding English) of their ethnic group, for ethnic groups (other than Māori) with an established resident population in New Zealand, as recorded in the 2006 Census.

The ability to speak a first language is defined as being able to hold an everyday conversation in that language. First language refers to an indigenous language associated with a given ethnicity, as opposed to the first language of a person. Sign language is not treated as a first language for the purposes of this indicator.
Relevance
The ability to speak the language of one’s identified ethnicity is an indicator of the ability to retain and pass on one’s culture and traditions to future generations. Language is a central component of cultural identity.
Current level and trends
In 2006 the proportion of under 25 year olds who could hold everyday conversations in the first language of their ethnic groups varied widely by ethnicity, from 6 percent of Cook Islands Māori to 81 percent of Koreans. Those identifying with Asian ethnic groups were more likely to speak their first language than those identifying with Pacific or European ethnic groups.  

Between 2001 and 2006 most ethnic groups experienced little change in the proportion of children and young people who could speak their first language, although there were slight increases for most Asian ethnic groups and slight decreases for most Pacific and European ethnic groups. 

Figure CI2.1 Proportion of people aged under 25 who could speak the first language of their ethnic group, 2001 and 2006

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, unpublished data

For all ethnic groups, young people who were born overseas were considerably more likely to speak their first language than those born in New Zealand. Among young people born in New Zealand, the proportion who could speak their first language ranged from 4 percent of Cook Islands Māori to 61 percent of Koreans. 

Figure CI2.2 Proportion of people aged under 25 who could speak the first language of their ethnic group, by birthplace, 2006

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, unpublished data
Age and sex differences
In all ethnic groups, those aged 18–24 were more likely than those aged under 18 to be able to hold an everyday conversation in the first language of their ethnic group. In most ethnic groups, females were slightly more likely than males to speak their first language. The sex differences were greatest among Cambodians and Vietnamese. 

Table CI2.1 Proportion (%) of people aged under 25 in selected ethnic groups who can speak the first language of their ethnic group, by age group and sex, 2006
	Ethnic group	Age	Sex	Total	
		0–17	18–24	Male	Female	0–24	
							
Pacific						
	Samoan	42	60	44	47	46	
	Cook Islands Maori	5	9	6	6	6	
	Tongan	42	58	44	46	45	
	Niuean	8	17	10	10	10	
	Tokelauan	18	38	21	23	22	
	Fijian	13	25	16	16	16	
							
Asian						
	Chinese	52	69	59	61	60	
	Indian	48	64	51	55	53	
	Cambodian	54	77	59	67	63	
	Vietnamese	55	71	58	66	62	
	Korean	80	83	79	82	81	
							
European						
	Dutch	17	29	20	21	20	
	Greek	--	--	23	23	23	
	Italian	--	--	12	14	13	
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, unpublished data
Note: -- figure too small to be expressed