Abstract:
This chapter explores current debates about language and ethnicity in Aotearoa/New Zealand,l along with their implications for luigrugu policy and language education in the New Zearand context. The key fo"r* oithJ "hapter is on two key people groups: Maori, New Zearand's indigenous people, and pasifika, a key pan-ethnic migrant group comprising peopre t om ttr" principrt pacific Islands of Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu, ,"a ni;i, who have since settled in New Zealand. In the rast New Zearand census (zooo), Maori made up 14'6% (565,329) of New Zealand's popuration of approximately 4 million, whereas Pasifika constituted 6.s% (265,57 ) (Ministry of Education 2OO'21.2 -However, before proceeding further, we must first situate these debates criti_ cally within the wider historical, social, and political background from which they emerged. Indeed, only when we adopt an overtly diachronic approach to questions of language and ethnicity (for further discussion, see Blommaert 1999; May 2006) can we begin to unravel fully their often-complex interconnections and articulations with language and language education poli"y and practices.