Russell Haywood Wow that’s just next level ignorance
2010s: New Zealand English Endangered?
January 6, 2020
By AHNZ
Marcus Lush’s talkback show is so late (this audio from 11pm, 24 October) that he gets real callers rather than the on-message voice actors of prime time radio slots. Here is a fascinating cultural clash between Lush and some indigenous South Islanders. They wished to carry on with their heritage but both Lush and The Spinoff came down hard to insist they, not the New Zealand English-speakers were on “the right side of history.”
Listen as the Auckland immigrant, Lush, tries to colonise his elders by bullying them! [update 2025: Link now dead as is the Youtube. But you can listen here on AHNZ.]
English-speaking New Zealanders have our own spelling, own pronunciation, own points of view just like Maoris do. Rather than embrace or even celebrate that people like Lush want to shut it down, to colonise and replace it. Isn’t it interesting how these are frequently the same people who say they love ‘diversity’ and hate ‘colonisation?’ Guess it depends who is being colonised.
“Marcus Lush is on the right side of history, and on the side of the historic revitalisation of te reo…Te reo brings us together as New Zealanders, whatever our background.”– Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins; The Spinoff
Lush: Wow. You are extraordinary…This call almost should go to Te Papa! To highlight someone that is just so wilfully…So you are deliberately misrepresenting a language?
I know this duel is going on but it’s another thing to hear it spoken out loud like this. The language colonisers are not content with severing the heritage to the next generation by controlling the schools. They are also depriving New Zealand adults and elders from being able to practise their culture and speak their own language. Lush and others pour derision and abuse on anyone who thinks differently to themselves. They don’t even attribute people with a different (older, more established, btw) speech to them as having a form of speech at all! It’s “deliberate misrepresentation” and “willful ignorance.” This is ostracism captured on tape. Exile. Hegemony. When this treatment is inflicted it has even been described as “genocide.”
Yet the arguments frequently made about how important it is to preserve and protect ‘Te Reo’ also apply to New Zealand English. A people must be self-expressed in their own tongue and not persecuted for it. That was the argument made and accepted in favour of Maori language after a strong social movement in the 1970s. It culminated in the Kohanga Reo Movement toward which New Zealand English speaking people paid many millions of dollars to create and support. Rather than gratitude, the benefactors of this change offer outright attack. Or, they offer the silence of “good men doing nothing” so that evil can triumph.
Seems to be a north/south split but our schools and universities and media has very much picked the side of the Newspeak. I think Mainlanders are happy for others to say ‘Mouldy’ (Maori,) or ‘Monaco’ (Manukau,) etc. if they prefer but draw the line at being told what to do; Live and let live! That changes as the dictators of Newspeak infiltrate the schooling, policing, health, media, etc. and require users to conform to their way. Google does it on the maps, the State Geographic Board re-writes them. Private courier companies insist on Newspeak addresses or make it very hard to use the heritage ones. For example, Maxwell has been struck from the record. When Kimbolton tried, quite innocently, to celebrate its Settlers Day they were essentially skull-stomped by the Great New Zealand Clobbering Machine.
Of course this Newstalk ZB radio argument is no debate but a jousting clash of contrary views. He says this, she says that. The upshot is that people who disagree with Lush are sidelines, cut off, and will not feel safe to be able to participate in community discussions that impact on their lives. They will not be able to place calls on any topic without their identity being called out unless they mask their accents and they may even stop following the news or other media at all due to the exclusionary practise.
What is needed is an intellectual and moral defence of New Zealand’s diverse cultures and dialects. That’s something I take responsibility for and am working on with Anarchist History of New Zealand.
Funny how the comment thread was not shut down AFTER it became abusive. That was just fine so long as New Zealand English was the target. Only after someone (Myself, and others) pushed back was the debate shut down. That gives the “thug’s veto” to anyone who can become abusive enough because it means they have the power to end any discourse from occurring. But, I’ve saved many of the comments below to put on record how the clobbering works.
If Diversity really is a value it needs to be pursued. It’s not as simple as simply liquidating people who don’t agree with you. For different cultures with their different languages to live side-by-side is a great challenge and might not even be viable at all. The way the people calling for Diversity seem to actually think of it though turns out to be Persecution by another name.
—
Updated 2025
—
Ref. Ethnomasochism
Image ref. Newstalk ZB
-
-
William Topia I neva listen to zb talk, but thats about to change😆😆
-
Bob Malcolm Farkin goblins hha 🤪
-
-
Bydand Gordon Ignorance an racial insensitivity alive an well
-
Murray Smith why is marcus surprised?
-
Bydand Gordon Ah eh ee or ou if you cant enunciate the ancient tounge your not soverign jus a tourist
-
-
Jarrid Plows
She just said she was 93? A classic example of entrenched racial ignorance/arrogance/racism. The 2nd caller just needs to be called out for what she really is…. a blatant uneducated racist. The first being just another product of that era and upbringing….. Another dinosaur…. The second is a product of a lack of upbringing…… Another racist redneck… -
Dennis Rawiri Gooo the ABs 🖤🇳🇿🏉.
10 weeks till Xmas 🎅🦌 🌲.-
Frank Arona I Oopee Ho Cusss,go!!! the ABs
-
Dennis Rawiri Frank Arona Ae marika .. Tautoko.
Kapa O Pango Aue Hii.
🖤🇳🇿🏉.
-
-
Judith Gurney Oh God! Marcus SHUT-UP!
-
Malcolm Sinclair Judith Gurney oh dear another one
-
-
Justin Tilly inflexible old people – unwanting to change what is entrenched in their past. I can see their red necks from here………
-
Malcolm Sinclair Justin Tilly not all older are inflexible
-
-
Stephen Hammerton Very interesting, this just goes to show how language evolves, what we hear and learn as a child is quite different to what our grandchildren will hear and learn, consider how your own grandparents pronounced some words, English,Maori or other languages.
-
Maureen Wood It’s what they have been taught
-
Ramona McGaughey It’s not ignorance its arrogance….
-
-
Nell Smith-Hughes Pig headed Mainlanders – geeze – they need to get their heads out of the 50’s
-
Aylene Price My pronunciation of Maori is woeful but I do try. That is some next level racist rubbish from the second caller. Actually it was from the first caller as well, but she’s ancient and will be dead soon, the second caller was young enough to know better.
-
Rick Giles These Southlanders have not had their language colonised and don’t want it to be. Why should they?
Can’t anyone here relate to that?
-
Richard Hall I agree with both Nicky and Mary.
-
Morehu Morehu Richard Hall nemime bub make urself a cuppa cocoa
-
Like Comment Share
Anarchist History of New Zealand: The weakness of men is the facade of strength; the strength of women is the facade of weakness. - Warren Farrell
