Call for govt to prioritise Pacific people struggling with language and culture

If nothing is done to support and maintain the languages and cultures of New Zealand's Pacific peoples, expect non-speaking Pasifika in Aotearoa in 20 years, the head of the Centre for Pacific Languages, Fesaitu Solomone, says.

The Auckland-based Rotuman advocate is urging the government to allocate resources and funding for the development and teaching of Pacific languages.

"If dominance is given to English, then in the next 15 to 20 years, we will see a big change and a shift in our languages moving to a stage where it's no longer going to be used here in Aotearoa."

Watch Fesaitu Solomone's interview below.

New Zealand's celebration of Pacific language and culture kicks off next week with Gasav Ne Fäeag Rotuạm Ta - Rotuman Language Week.

The theme is ‘Vetḁkia ‘os Fäega ma Ag fak hanua - Sustaining our Language and Culture.’

The Ministry for Pacific Peoples said the theme came from the overarching Language Week Series for 2024, 'Sustainability'.

"This aligns with the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages and the long-term vision in the Pacific Languages Strategy," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Hata Collective (on behalf of the Rotuman community in Aotearoa) has continued to focus on the Four Pillars of wellbeing. To support the concept of Sustainability, the pillar that best supports this is Vetaki which means to continuously do something without interruption.

"Vetaki is also a word that is rarely used in the current spoken language, so the use of this word in the theme also signals the need for revival. The community felt this was meaningful and relevant to the goals of Rotuma Language Week 2024.

Rotuman Language Week will be celebrated from 12-18 May. Photo/MPP

"The word Vetaki does not sit alone and takes on meaning relevant to language and culture. No matter how far we live from the motherland, language and culture helps shape who we are as people," the ministry said.

Less than 1000 people identified themselves as Rotumans and just under five per cent of them can speak the language, according to Statistics NZ's 2018 Census.

Solomone said the language week was important for Rotumans to showcase their culture and identity to Aotearoa and the world.

"We are very small, the smallest community group here in Aotearoa, but we can celebrate with our people together.

"So, a lot of our people are reconnecting. The Rotuma Language Week was a way, and through PMN Rotuma, to help enable our people to connect through our language, and our music, to learn more about what our people are doing here in Aotearoa and connect to the rest of the world.

"The Rotuma language has reached globally. We have a lot of our people whom we've never met, never known to be connected back to Rotuma are reconnecting to their roots, even traveling back to the islands."

She said not only does the language week lift Rotumans, but it's also helped many young people to understand more about themselves and their culture.

There are 981 people who identify as Rotumans in Aotearoa, StatsNZ says.

And she wants to see this continue.

"If we do not do anything now, it's about what the future looks like for our young people, for our generations to come. If the government doesn't support it at some stage, then it's left to the community which is struggling already to help support the space.

"I believe that the work for the government should continue to see areas that truly need support. Our Pacific people will continue to grow here in Aotearoa. What does it look like for us? And how does our generation's becoming the workforce of tomorrow not reconnected?

"And that's what our people are looking for - the culture, the identity, the heritage to reconnect for who they are and on their language journey."

She said the government "should always support" the vulnerability of Pacific languages across the motu.

New Zealand Sign Language Week is also being celebrated and Solomone said it was about "understanding our way of life, how we connect, our cultural aspects through organisations that can help us to work together in the same space".

Gasav Ne Fäeag Rotuạm Ta - Rotuman Language Week - will be held from 12-18 May and will include the island's independence celebrations on 13 May.