A speech by New Zealand Green Party MP Tamatha Paul has sparked widespread debate after she described English as a "bastard language" while advocating stronger support for te reo Māori, the country's Indigenous language.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on a bill to grant English official language status, Paul argued that English already dominates daily life and does not require additional legal protection. Instead, she called for greater efforts to preserve te reo Māori, which was historically suppressed during the colonial era. Explaining her remarks, Paul said English evolved from a mix of languages, including Greek, Old Norse, and Latin, rather than a single linguistic source.
She also praised Wales as a model for language preservation, highlighting its bilingual policies that place Welsh alongside English in schools, government services, road signs, and public institutions. Paul said Wales demonstrates that protecting an Indigenous language can strengthen national identity while allowing multiple languages to coexist.
