| Languages of New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 English and Māori sign inBroadwood | |
| Official |
|
| Main | English |
| Indigenous | |
| Vernacular | New Zealand English |
| Minority |
|
| Signed | New Zealand Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Source | 2018 New Zealand census[1] |
English is the predominant language and ade facto official language ofNew Zealand. Almost the entire population speak it either as native speakers or proficiently as a second language.[1] TheNew Zealand English dialect is most similar toAustralian English in pronunciation, with some key differences. TheMāori language of the indigenousMāori people was made the firstde jure official language in 1987.New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) has been an official language since 2006. Many other languages are used by New Zealand's minority ethnic communities.
New Zealand has three official languages: English (de facto),Māori andNew Zealand Sign Language.[2][3]
Otago Law Professor Andrew Geddis explains the context of official languages:
English is already a de facto official language, which may be used in any or all public or official contexts. (...) [W]e legislated te reo [Māori] and sign language as being "official languages", in order to affirmatively grant the right to use them in particular, specified situations where they otherwise could not be used. This is not the case with English. It's simply a general, background cultural presumption in our particular society that this is the language of our government. (...) English is so much an "official language" that our law actually specifies in various places it must be used in place of any other.[4]
English is the most common language, with 95.4 percent of the population having conversational fluency, according to the 2018 census.[1][5] It has been the dominant language sincePākehā became the majority in the 1860s.[6] It is ade facto official language,[7] and the primary language used in parliament, government agencies, the courts, and the education system.[8] Its official status is presumed and not codified instatute,[4] the same as in Australia,[9] the United Kingdom[10] and the United States.[11] In 2018,New Zealand First MPClayton Mitchell introduced a bill to parliament to statutorily recognise English as an official language.[12][13]
New Zealand English is mostlynon-rhotic with the exception of the "southern burr" found principally inSouthland and parts ofOtago.[14] It is similar toAustralian English and many speakers from the Northern Hemisphere are unable to tell the two accents apart.[15] In New Zealand English the short ⟨i⟩ (as in kit) has becomecentralised, leading to theshibbolethfish and chips sounding like "fush and chups" to the Australian ear.[16] The wordsrarely andreally,reel andreal,doll anddole,pull andpool,witch andwhich, andfull andfill can sometimes be pronounced ashomophones.[17][18][14] New Zealand English exhibits thenear–square merger, sohair,hare,hear andhere are sometimes homophones.[19] Some New Zealanders pronounce thepast participlesgrown,thrown andmown using twosyllables, whereasgroan,throne andmoan are pronounced as one syllable.[20] New Zealanders often reply to a question or emphasise a point by adding arising intonation at the end of the sentence.[21] New Zealand English has alsoborrowed words and phrases fromMāori, such ashaka (war dance),kia ora (a greeting),mana (power or prestige),puku (stomach),taonga (treasure) andwaka (canoe).[22][23]
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TheMāori language of the indigenousMāori people has been an official language by statute since 1987, with rights and obligations to use it defined by theMaori Language Act 1987.[24] It can, for example, be used in legal settings, such as in court, but proceedings are only recorded in English, unless private arrangements are made and agreed by the judge.
An Eastern Polynesian language, Māori is closely related toTahitian andCook Islands Māori.[25] After the Second World War, Māori were discouraged from speaking their language in schools and workplaces and it existed as a community language only in a few remote areas.[26] As a consequence of this, many Māori came to view te reo Māori as a language without purpose and chose not to teach their children. Since the 1970s, the language has undergone a process of revitalisation and is spoken by a larger number of people.[27][28] Of the 185,955 people (4.0 percent of respondents) who claimed they could hold a conversation in Māori in the 2018 census, 86.2 percent identified as Māori, but, conversely, only 18.4 percent of Māori-identifying spoke te reo Māori.[29] No adult Māori alive in New Zealand today does not also speak English.[30]
New Zealand Sign Language, the main language of thedeaf community in New Zealand, has been an official language by statute since 2006, by virtue of the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006.[31][32] It is legal to use it and have access to it in legal proceedings and government services. In the 2018 census, 22,986 people (0.5%) reported the ability to use New Zealand Sign Language.[1]
New Zealand has immigrants from European, Asian and Pacific Island countries who have brought their languages with them. According toEthnologue (as of 2017[update]), the largest groups areSamoan (86,400),Hindi (66,300),Mandarin Chinese (52,300),French (49,100) andCantonese (44,600).[33] These minority foreign languages are concentrated in the main cities, particularly Auckland where recent immigrant groups have settled.[34] In the2018 census, 115,830 respondents who spoke at least one language did not include English as one of their spoken languages.[35]
The number and proportion ofmultilingual people (those who can speak two or more languages) has continued to increase since the 2001 census. In the 2018 census, the number of multilingual people was 946,275, or 20.6 percent of respondents who spoke at least one language. The highest proportions of multilingual speakers lived in theAuckland (30.9%) andWellington (21.2%) regions.[36]
In the 2023 census, the following languages were reportedly spoken by more than 0.1 percent of the population.[37] People could report more than one language, therefore percentages do not add up to 100. Statistics include those who spoke no language (e.g. too young to talk).
| Language | 2018 census | 2023 census | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| English | 4,482,132 | 95.37 | 4,750,056 | 95.12 |
| Māori | 185,955 | 3.96 | 213,849 | 4.28 |
| Samoan | 101,937 | 2.17 | 110,541 | 2.21 |
| Mandarin | 95,253 | 2.03 | 107,412 | 2.15 |
| Hindi | 69,471 | 1.48 | 77,985 | 1.56 |
| Tagalog | 43,278 | 0.92 | 59,517 | 1.19 |
| Chinese, not further defined | 51,501 | 1.10 | 58,059 | 1.16 |
| Cantonese | 52,767 | 1.12 | 54,417 | 1.09 |
| French | 55,116 | 1.17 | 52,884 | 1.06 |
| Panjabi | 34,227 | 0.73 | 49,656 | 0.99 |
| Afrikaans | 36,966 | 0.79 | 49,041 | 0.98 |
| Spanish | 38,823 | 0.83 | 47,004 | 0.94 |
| German | 41,385 | 0.88 | 40,092 | 0.80 |
| Tongan | 35,820 | 0.76 | 37,752 | 0.76 |
| Korean | 31,323 | 0.67 | 32,871 | 0.66 |
| Fiji Hindi | 26,805 | 0.57 | 29,406 | 0.59 |
| New Zealand Sign Language | 22,986 | 0.49 | 24,678 | 0.49 |
| Japanese | 24,885 | 0.53 | 24,432 | 0.49 |
| Gujarati | 22,200 | 0.47 | 24,195 | 0.48 |
| Dutch | 23,343 | 0.50 | 21,588 | 0.43 |
| Malayalam | 9,024 | 0.19 | 14,604 | 0.29 |
| Portuguese | 10,569 | 0.22 | 13,926 | 0.28 |
| Russian | 12,543 | 0.27 | 13,515 | 0.27 |
| Arabic | 12,399 | 0.26 | 13,494 | 0.27 |
| Tamil | 10,107 | 0.22 | 12,474 | 0.25 |
| Sinhala | 7,266 | 0.15 | 10,479 | 0.21 |
| Italian | 9,903 | 0.21 | 10,293 | 0.21 |
| Thai | 9,066 | 0.19 | 10,143 | 0.20 |
| Vietnamese | 7,755 | 0.17 | 10,002 | 0.20 |
| Persian | 7,002 | 0.15 | 9,795 | 0.20 |
| Urdu | 7,824 | 0.17 | 9,549 | 0.19 |
| Malaysian | 8,097 | 0.17 | 8,673 | 0.17 |
| Fijian | 7,143 | 0.15 | 8,439 | 0.17 |
| Khmer | 7,551 | 0.16 | 7,854 | 0.16 |
| Cook Islands Māori | 7,833 | 0.17 | 7,854 | 0.16 |
| Bahasa Indonesia | 6,282 | 0.13 | 6,975 | 0.14 |
| Telugu | 5,754 | 0.12 | 6,714 | 0.13 |
| Min | 5,760 | 0.12 | 5,775 | 0.12 |
| Marathi | 4,770 | 0.10 | 5,523 | 0.11 |
| Serbo-Croatian | 5,502 | 0.12 | 5,286 | 0.11 |
| None (e.g. too young to talk) | 101,751 | 2.17 | 104,721 | 2.10 |
| Total respondents | 4,699,716 | 100.00 | 4,993,923 | 100.00 |
According to the 2023 census, English is the most-spoken language in all 67 territorial authority areas in New Zealand. Māori is the second-most spoken language in 57 territorial authority area. Areas where Māori is not the second-most spoken language are:[38]
In addition to the Māori language, New Zealand Sign Language is also an official language of New Zealand. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 permits the use of NZSL in legal proceedings, facilitates competency standards for its interpretation and guides government departments in its promotion and use. English, the medium for teaching and learning in most schools, is a de facto official language by virtue of its widespread use. For these reasons, these three languages have special mention in the New Zealand Curriculum.
The use of English in Australia is one example of both a de facto national and official language: it is widely used and is the language of government and the courts, but has never been legally designated as the country's official language.
The United States has never had an official language and attempts to declare English its official language have been unsuccessful in the U.S. Congress.
All (adult) Māori speakers can also speak English.
