When was Maori first written down?
1820
Who worked together towards that cause?
Samuel Lee and Hongi Hika
Was Hongi Hika a chief?
Yes
What was Lee's profession?
linguist
Who first introduced the alphabet to the region?
Missionaries
When did that occur?
around 1814
Has the written language gone through a lot of changes since then?
No
What is the language called in New Zealand?
"Te Reo"
What does that mean?
the language
What is the horizontal line above the "a" called?
macron
Is the term ever used without that symbol?
Yes
Who speaks this language?
the Māori people
Are they native to Australia?
No
Where then?
New Zealand
Is it an official language?
Yes
What other dialects is it related to?
Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian.
About how many people in the country can speak this?
148,000
Is that over half of New Zealand's population?
No
About what percentage of Maori adults know at least a little of the language?
55
About how many can speak the language well or very well?
50,000