24 Jul 2015

MPs asked to make effort with Māori pronunciation

9:35 am on 24 July 2015

The Māori Development Minister is challenging Members of Parliament to brush up on their Māori language pronunciation in the House next week to support Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

Te Ururoa Flavell

Te Ururoa Flavell Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

The annual campaign to promote the language starts on Monday.

Te Ururoa Flavell said he would like to see MP's making more of an effort at getting their tongue around Māori words.

He said he would like to see members who can speak Māori helping others out.

Mr Flavell referred MPs to Kāpiti College student, Finnian Galbraith's, Facebook page - where the 15-year-old speaks about the importance of pronunciation and promotes the Māori language.

The school student's YouTube video has gone viral and the BBC has now reported on the clip which has now racked up more than 155,000 views since being posted on Monday.