Wikipedia says there are 3 official languages (English, Māori, NZ Sign Language), britannica says there are 2 (English; Maori). I am wondering what exactly says the law about official languages in NZ, and which is that law (I didn't find any legal text about this on internet)
2007-02-17 08:29:01 · 11 answers · asked by habarnam 2 in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
My misunderstanding was generated by what I found on Wikipedia: "English is a de facto official language; the other two have de jure official status.". This means English is not a 'de jure' official language, and it's just a 'de facto' official language? Or is both a 'de facto' and 'de jure' official language? In the law text related to this subject (whatever that law is and whenever this law has been (re)modified) says explicitly English is an official language?
2007-02-17 12:19:25 · update #1
So, if johno is right (and I guess he is), until 1987, there was no official language in NZ. Then they introduced the concept of 'official language' just because Maori and NZSL's acceptance was in doubt, not mentioning anything about the official character of English because there were no complains about that. Very strange anglo-saxon legal system (just like '2 people can not kiss if a white mouse is closer than 1 foot to them'-like laws in US)... It's just like not mentioning anything in legislation about homicide because everyone agrees a killer should be punished.
2007-02-17 21:58:36 · update #2
Wikipedia is correct.
Until 1987, English was the sole official language; in that year Maori was added and then on 10th April 2006, the New Zealand Sign Language Act was given the Royal Assent by the Governor-General and became official legislation.
I imagine any discrepancies in your research information are due to the fact that NZSL has only recently been added and some reference sites have yet to be updated.
Additional comments:
To the best of my knowledge, and I am willing to be corrected, English has never been 'ratified' as an official language of New Zealand through specific legislation (I believe it is the same for both the Federal government of the USA and the United Kingdom - neither of whom has enacted legislation to make English their official language). The universal acceptance of English as the official language in New Zealand has made this step unnecessary. On the other hand, both Maori and NZSL were legislated as officlal languages because their universal acceptance was and still is in doubt without such legislation.
2007-02-17 08:56:50 · answer #1 · answered by johno 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
English
2007-02-17 20:30:27 · answer #2 · answered by Douglass B 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
English
2007-02-17 09:38:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
English and Maori are the offical languages in New Zealand. Everybody speaks English and Maori's speak both.
Because of the treaty that was signed the offical language is considered both English and Maori.
2007-02-17 10:28:37 · answer #4 · answered by Klingon Atheist 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
English & Maori
2007-02-18 15:41:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
When I was there, it was pretty much English. The Maori are the native people of NZ and their culture and language are still around, though the majority of the population cannot speak it.
2007-02-17 08:32:37 · answer #6 · answered by CG 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
english
2007-02-17 08:36:00 · answer #7 · answered by shelbin 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Are you fopr real deal?...LMAO! what are we supposed to be grass skirts or sumting? Im a kiwi!!! and we speak english, Im Maori (native NZ born) and I can speak Maori as well but we ALL SPEAK ENGLISH! ...lol
2007-02-17 16:36:09 · answer #8 · answered by SuzyQ 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
New Zealandinian.
2007-02-17 08:31:14 · answer #9 · answered by TheBosnian 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
ENGLISH!!!!!!
2007-02-17 19:16:14 · answer #10 · answered by Cess 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋