international people start calling our country aotearoa instead of new zealand challenge
aotearoa is the te reo name for our country, commonly translated as "land of the long white cloud" as the story goes Kupe was guided to our whenua by following a long white cloud in the sky. new zealand is a name which was forced on us by colonizers who stole our precious land less than 200 years ago. by reverting back to the māori name you are metaphorically giving the land back to the tangata whenua, the people of the land, and we can begin to normalize using the proper names for things that should have always belonged to māori
heres a link to a good pronunciation, i recommend practicing saying it along to the video. but please remember that even if you cant get it perfect, say it anyway!! its better to try and get it slightly wrong than not try at all
here’s another pronunciation guide that goes into more detail about how vowels are pronounced in te reo and the structure of the correct pronunciation!
while you're at it, sign te pāti māori's petition to officially change the country's name! anyone from anywhere can sign, please support this kaupapa to restore naming rights to tāngata whenua!
