#i'm not a monolith and as diaspora māori i'm inevitably going to feel differently about certain topics. i'm just a guy on the internet etc

[irawhiti]

Is it alright for people to learn te reo Māori if we aren’t Māori? Like is it an open language to learn, or is it more of a closed culture type thing? Just wanted to ask to be sure bc I know all the bs about cultural appropriation being framed as representation (like the bg3 shit just as an example). I hope I’m making sense aaaaaaa

dw you're making sense. but yeah, i've gotten this question a few times and the general consensus i've gotten from asking my māori followers for their opinions/knowledge is that it's definitely alright to learn te reo as long as you're respectful about the fact that it's an endangered + indigenous language. there's currently a heavy emphasis on teaching māori te reo for many important reasons but as long as you aren't taking up any of those specific resources or otherwise stepping on toes (and you need to actually listen if people say you're crossing a line; there are many aspects of te reo māori that require a basic understanding of māori cosmology, beliefs, and culture), you're fine and in fact generally encouraged to learn te reo māori since it's helping keep an endangered language alive :)