Leo Moana o Aotearoa – the Pacific Languages of Aotearoa Survey

The Leo Moana o Aotearoa Pacific Languages of Aotearoa Project is the first national project of its kind to investigate the use of, and attitudes towards, nine Pacific languages in Aotearoa. It looks at Te Gagana Tokelau, Vagahau Niue, Te Reo Māori Kuki ‘Āirani, Gagana Samoa, Lea faka-Tonga, Te Gana Tuvalu, Vosa Vakaviti, Fäeag Rotuạm Ta and Te taetae ni Kiribati.

The project was launched in 2022, alongside the Pacific Languages Strategy 2022 – 2032.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Develop a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of Pacific languages in New Zealand to understand who speaks each language, to whom, when, where and why
• Monitor Pacific peoples’ attitudes towards their Pacific heritage languages and towards English, to better understand the value placed on the languages and how this affects their use
• Examine enabling factors and barriers to Pacific heritage language use for Pacific peoples in New Zealand, to inform what support is needed to maintain and revitalise these languages.

The initial research involved a national survey and talanoa with Pacific communities from nine Pacific groups across New Zealand (Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Fiji, Rotuma, and Kiribati).

The Leo Moana o Aotearoa Survey provides detailed information about Pacific language use, proficiency and attitudes that isn’t available from the Census alone.

These contemporary insights strengthen stewardship and help inform policy, strategy and investment to support Pacific language maintenance and revitalisation, including the Pacific Languages Strategy.

The initial Leo Moana survey gathered information from Pacific people aged 15 years age and above about their use of and attitudes towards Pacific languages in New Zealand.

The survey was made available in English as well as nine Pacific languages – te gagana Tokelau, te reo Māori Kuki ‘Airani, vagahau Niue, gagana Samoa, lea faka-Tonga, vosa Vakaviti, te gana Tuvalu, fäeag Rotuḁm, and te taetae ni Kiribati. Many participants completed the survey in their Pacific language.

The Leo Moana Survey was delivered online and was live from November 2021 through to February 2022. It comprised 70 questions covering 10 topics:

• demographic information
• Pacific language proficiency
• Pacific language use and attitudes across childhood and current language use, home and family, education, church, workplace, media and broadcasting, in Pacific communities and in wider Aotearoa New Zealand society.

A total of 3039 Pacific people completed the survey. Participants were identified across Pacific ethnicity, age, gender, region and birthplace. The sampling frame was designed using data from the 2018 New Zealand census data and is representative of Pacific peoples residing in New Zealand.

Survey results are used to:

• support Pacific language maintenance and revitalisation
• provide baseline insights into Pacific language use, proficiency and attitudes
• complement Census data and inform stewardship, policy, strategy and investment (including the Pacific Languages Strategy 2022-2032).

The New Zealand Census aims to cover the whole population and provides national demographic and language data.

Leo Moana o Aotearoa is a survey of a sample of Pacific peoples that provides more detailed, policy-relevant insights into Pacific language use, proficiency and attitudes, complementing Census data.

Trends may look similar, but statistics can differ because the populations, questions and methods are different.

While there has been three years since the Leo Moana o Aotearoa survey was conducted and the publication of these reports, trends in language use and attitudes do not change significantly over a short period of time. The insights gathered through the reports will still be relevant to the current state of Pacific languages in New Zealand.

Get in touch with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples at [email protected]