Google Māori goes live

Google Māori goes live

Google Māori goes live to the world tomorrow. The Māori interface of Google, the world’s largest online search engine, is being launched at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Rotorua.

Last year Potaua and Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule of www.TangataWhenua.com requested assistance to complete the translation of Google into te reo Māori. They were overwhelmed with offers of help, and media enquiries from national and international media.

A team of dedicated volunteers was formed from Aotearoa to New York, including a team of people who translated more than 8,750 words which enables anyone to navigate the Google interface in te reo Māori. All the words, messages, buttons and advanced search fields are now in te reo Māori.

“Digital technology is a vital means of transmitting te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori, strengthening Māori identity, expressing a Māori world view and communicating with the world”, says Huhana Rokx, Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission).

“A living language is an evolving language, and Google Māori is an ideal way to make te reo Māori available in an ever increasing digital environment. It enables learners to increase their understanding of te reo Māori by using the Google Māori Language Tool. Fluent and native speakers are able to search and access online content and connections in te reo Māori”, says Huhana Rokx.

The launch of Google Māori follows two days after Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori’s launched the largest online monolingual dictionary “He Pātaka Kupu” available on www.koreromaori.co.nz.

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