In New Zealand the official spoken languages are English and Maori. New Zealand has the distinction of being the first country to make sign language an official language, doing so in 2006.

While Maori is an official language there are decreasing numbers of people who can speak it fluently and use it regularly, mainly due to Maoris moving to the cities to live and work. This means that they have become accustomed to using English more than their native language. When the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, a promise was made to the Maori people to help to protect their language but it is only in recent years that the campaign to keep it alive has gathered pace. At this moment in time it is being used more and more in the media and children are able to learn it at school. Official estimates state that almost 150,000 people use the Maori language, from a total population of around 4.6 million. Some of these have basic conversational skills in Maori while for others it is their main language. Maori is also the official language used in the Cook Islands.

Among the outlying territories and islands of New Zealand there are other languages. The island of Niue has Niuean as an official language alongside English. Tokelau has Tokelauan as well as English and the Chatham Islands use Moriori. For some of these minority Polynesian languages there are more native speakers living in New Zealand than there are on the island of origin.

In addition to these languages, immigrants from other parts of the world have brought other languages with them and there are growing communities of people who speak Hindi, Chinese and Arabic, in addition to other Indian and European languages.

The vast majority of those living in New Zealand speak fluent English. English is the business language and there is no need for expats to learn Maori unless they have a personal interest in doing so. Those who do not have English as a first language will need to learn at least conversational skills, but if you intend to work in New Zealand then you need to be fairly fluent.

Those who do not have English as a first language are able to attend language schools in the main cities. Language Schools New Zealand has schools located in Christchurch and Queenstown which are easily reached and which offer both full and part time courses. Languages International has schools in Auckland and Christchurch and has been in operation for over 30 years. Students can choose from intensive courses if they need to learn quickly or part-time courses. Others may choose to hire local tutors and these can be found in the local Yellow Pages. Those who have a qualification in teaching English as a second language may be able to find work in this field at one of the language schools or as a private tutor.

Television programming is in English, apart from the programmes which are aimed at the Maori-speaking population.

Useful Resources

Language Schools New Zealand Queenstown
3rd Floor, O’Connells Shopping Centre
30 Camp St Queenstown
PO Box 911
Queenstown
Tel: +64 3 442 6625
Email: queenstown@languageschool.co.nz
www.languageschool.co.nz

Language Schools New Zealand Christchurch
Shades Arcade
99 – 105 Cashel St
PO Box 1882
Christchurch
Tel: +64 3 366 2525
Email: Christchurch@languageschool.co.nz
www.languageschool.co.nz

Languages International
PO Box 5293
Auckland 1141
Tel: +64 9 309 0615
info@languages.ac.nz
www.languages.ac.nz