A dying language

The Maori language, Te Reo, is desperately struggling to stay alive.

Such crises - the dying of cultures - should be treated with urgency and creativity. It sounds so limp-wristed to simply shrug the collective shoulders and blame it on a lack of funds, as cited here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4253185/Maori-language-needs-life-support

Te Reo has such a good foundation and widespread support from the non-Maori population that could be built on.

Instructive is the example of Welsh. The Welsh Language Act of 1993 made it a national cause to prevent the language from fading into oblivion. Today more than 20 percent of the population speaks Welsh fluently.

The Maori culture is so inspiring that it would be a national tragedy to let it go the way of the Moa - the giant flightless birds that grew to 12 feet and weighed more than 500 pounds. They were hunted to extinction by the Maori. "If only we knew then what we know now, the moa would still be around," is a sentiment oft expressed.

Well, we know now what we know about Te Reo. We are the ancestors that future generations will deride as ignorant and blinkered if Te Reo is allowed to die.