New Zealand Makes English an Official Language
The two-page law formalizes English’s long-standing status and leaves protections for te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language unchanged.
- On Thursday, New Zealand lawmakers passed the English Language Bill, formally designating English as an official language alongside Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.
- Championed by the nationalist New Zealand First party as a coalition commitment, the legislation clarifies English's status, which is already spoken by more than 95% of New Zealand's population of almost 4.8 million people.
- Opposition Green MP Tamatha Paul condemned the bill as a "waste of time," with her parliamentary speech garnering more than 6 million Instagram views while she criticized the "snowflake" government for politicizing language.
- Nearly two-thirds of 1,601 public submissions to the Justice Committee opposed the legislation, with critics arguing it creates "unnecessary division within society" and undermines existing minority language protections.
- Although the two-page bill changes no existing legal protections for minority languages, experts like Sharon Harvey at Auckland University of Technology question whether it will encourage governments to reduce the importance of other languages.
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17 Articles
New Zealand votes to protect English after Maori MP laments 'b*****d language'
New Zealand MPs have voted to protect the English language by passing a new bill to make it one of the country’s official languages.The Pacific Rim nation previously had Māori and New Zealand Sign Language as official languages.However, more than 95 per cent of New Zealand’s population speak English as of 2023, amounting to around 4.8 million people,Just 4.3 per cent speak Māori and 0.5 per cent use sign language. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Sa…
New Zealand has a new official language
The English Language Bill states that the addition of English as an official language, alongside Māori and the country’s sign language, will not mean any new rules are needed for it to continue being used in legal, political and government settings or documents.
New Zealand officially recognized English as the state language - the law was ridiculed as “deplorable"The New Zealand Parliament granted English official status despite criticism. The Department of Justice recommended no to pass the law due to the lack of evidence of necessity.
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