A bid to see Māori and Pasifika player names pronounced correctly, and an increased embracing of Māori language, has led broadcasting giant Sky to offer te reo Māori broadcasting for Rugby World Cup games.
Documents seen by Stuff show commentators, such as Grant Nisbett and Justin Marshall, have been learning greetings and phrases in te reo Māori, as well as keywords related to the World Cup, and pronunciation.
The meanings and origin stories behind the All Blacks’ two main haka – Ka Mate and Kapa O Pango are also explored.
Staff have also learnt how to pronounce words and letters in Pacific languages, such as Tongan, Samoan and Fijian.
Commentator Tūmanao Harawira said pronunciation was incredibly important to the identity of a person.
“Identity is incredibly important not just for Māori and Pasifika but for all players. Identity is very, very important to the health of a person,” he said.
“The name is very much front of shop in terms of your identity. To continually have your name mispronounced, it can really affect a person’s wellbeing.”
Sky/Supplied
Tūmanao Harawira (right) and Te Aorere Pēwhairangi, te reo commentators for the Rugby World Cup.
Harawira said while te reo has its champions among Māori, it was just as important for non-Māori to embrace and correctly use the language too.
“Non-Māori champions of the language have a bigger role in actually getting people on board, Grant Nisbett is a perfect example.
“They’re really pushing the boundary… a lot of people are whakamā (have shame) in trying to pronounce another language, it might seem fake and convoluted.
“Once you see them, Jack Tame, Grant Nisbett in how they pronounce these names it allows non-Māori to say ‘if they can do it, I can’.”
Commentator pronunciation of Māori and Pacific Island names has come under the spotlight over the past few years.
Stuff
Rugby World Cup 2023 kicks off on Saturday, September 9 (NZ time), with New Zealand taking on France at 7.15pm.
Former Warriors star Greg Alexander apologised in 2022 after being criticised by ex-Kiwis hooker Issac Luke for mispronouncing the Māori name during the televised NRL All Stars clash.
Harawira and fellow broadcaster Te Aorere Pēwhairangi will be te reo Māori commentators for the world cup.
Te reo Māori commentary will also be available for the four All Blacks pool games against France, Italy, Uruguay and Namibia, and however far New Zealand get after that, he said.
“This is an opportunity to give a language a greater profile not just among speakers of the language but also such a big event like the Rugby World Cup… is quite humbling, it’s quite a privilege for me,” he said.
Rugby World Cup 2023 kicks off on Saturday, September 9 (NZ time) with New Zealand taking on France at 7.15pm. Both Te reo Māori and English commentary will be available on Stuff.
Stuff and Sky have teamed up for a special multimedia cross-channel offering dedicated to the Rugby World Cup 2023.
A dedicated multimedia hub located on Stuff features 12 streamed games, including live coverage of the opening match between the All Blacks and France, two quarterfinals, a semifinal and the final.
In addition to the streams, Stuff will live blog all 48 games.
