New Zealand Niueans

The revelation that only 12 percent of New Zealand born Niueans could hold an everyday discussion in Nuiean has sparked the Vagahau Niue/Mind Your Language Pilot Project.

Niueans involved in the “Mind Your Language” project present songs from the project CD at the launch in Wellington. (Photo: Samantha Magick)

Launching the manuals, songs and cds that have been produced under the pilot program, Pacific Affairs Ministry Chief Executive Officer Fuimaono Les McCarthy says "it is not far-fetched to suggest that the Niuean language could be lost within a generation as older fluent speakers pass on, leaving an insufficient mass of fluent speakers to provide for the preservation of the language."

"(My ministry) never pretended that we were able as a ministry to save a language. The only people who can save the language are Niuean people themselves."

The Vagahau Niue project aims to utilize members of the community who are fluent in Niuean to teach younger generations. Fuimaono urged them to "be willing to share your willingness to speak with as many people as possible-seek them out-aim to get people in the hundreds to learn this language.

"If we had 2000 more people who can speak Niuean, then you can have a group that can pressure government to do more. I'll even do it myself."

Fuimaono said the NZ$30,000 used to fund the project was diverted from elsewhere, but that "we've turned that money into gold and that gold is sitting over there."

The Ministry plans to launch similar programs for the Cook Islands Maori and Tokelauan languages.

The 2001 census revealed that only 6 percent of New Zealand born Cook Islanderss could speak fluent Cook Islands Maori and 30 percent of Tokelauans were fluent.

The program was launched with full-throated renditions of a number of the songs that feature on the learning materials. Niuean organizers at the launch asked for further funds so they could produce more copies of the resources, and so their teams could go out into the country's Niuean communities.