Abstract—This paper presents an overview and analysis of
Indigenous-language picture books in Aotearoa. The Māori,
the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, underwent a long period of
colonisation and experienced culture and language loss.
Indigenous movements demanding human rights and
revitalisation of the Māori language remained prevalent until
the 1970s. Several scholars proclaim that literature in the
Indigenous language is one avenue that effectively preserves
language and suggest printing more than educational materials
[1–3]. However, Māori attempts to increase Indigenouslanguage
literature to safeguard their native tongues have been
constrained by the limited number of language speakers and
writers. Currently, Indigenous-language picture books are the
primary Indigenous-language literature in Aotearoa. This paper
analyses the history, authors and translators of Māori-language
picture books, as well as the ethnic identity, language and
subject of these books.
Index Terms—picture book in Māori language, Indigenous
language, language preservation
Manuscript received December 5, 2022; revised February 2, 2023;
accepted February 20, 2023.
Lawa Iwan is with the University of Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
E-mail: aslawa7@gmail.com (L.I.)
[PDF]
Cite:Lawa Iwan, "Language Preservation: The Rise of Māori-Language Picture Books in Aotearoa," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 152-156, 2023.