When travelling, sometimes you remember things that you have let sink into your subconscious. One of those things for me is the fact that I grew up (for the first eight years anyway) in Malaysia. When you are a person who lives in Malaysia, you don’t even think about the fact that things are announced in at least two, sometimes three or four languages. So as we get off the Air Asia flight today, they announced the notices in both English and Bahasa Malay.
Why does Aotearoa’s national carrier not do that?
Air New Zealand should announce everything in te Reo as well as English. (Don’t even get me started on sign language! How are deaf people meant to know what the pilot just said!! What if it was important!?)
It will not only help to create that unique point of difference for tourists, it will also help to normalise the use of te Reo in everyday situations. It’s time we stopped just using te Reo as a touristy gimmick and actually started incorporating it into our everyday lives… I, for one, would love to be welcomed back home to Aotearoa in te Reo.
Vivian Chandra 