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Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms pp 19–35Cite as

The Development of a Mathematics Register in an Indigenous Language

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Part of the book series: Mathematics Education Library ((MELI,volume 52))

Abstract

The Māori language, te reo Māori, increased its mathematics register at two distinct historical moments in time, and these are documented in this chapter, which begins the section on political challenges. The initial enlargement of the mathematics register occurred with the beginning of continuous contact with European trade and farming communities. Consequently, the vocabulary increased in respect to measurement and monetary interactions. At this time, transliterations proliferated, perhaps because most Māori did not see their language as being in conflict with English. Following the banning of te reo Māori in schools in the 1860s, there was no significant expansion of the mathematics register for more than a century. In the 1980s, kura kaupapa Māori were set up as a result of a political movement by Māori parents and the wider community. We outline the different challenges from expanding the mathematics register that arose at these different periods of time with very different political environments. For example, we describe in the most recent expansion how some archaic terms were given new, albeit related, mathematical meanings. We also show how the mathematics register continues to develop to meet the demands of new mathematical professional development programmes and curriculums introduced by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. In many ways this challenge can be considered as one where “normal” is now being redefined.

This chapter draws heavily on the article: Barton, B., Fairhall, U., & Trinick, T. (1998). Tikanga Reo Tatai: Issues in the development of a Māori mathematics register. For the learning of mathematics, 18(1), 3–9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charles Sturt University, School of Education, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia

    Dr. Tamsin Meaney

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, PO Box 92109, 1020, Auckland, Fisher Bldg., New Zealand

    Tony Trinick

  3. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Te Koutu, PO Box 379, Rotorua, New Zealand

    Uenuku Fairhall

Authors
  1. Dr. Tamsin Meaney
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  2. Tony Trinick
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  3. Uenuku Fairhall
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Correspondence to Tamsin Meaney .

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Meaney, T., Trinick, T., Fairhall, U. (2012). The Development of a Mathematics Register in an Indigenous Language. In: Collaborating to Meet Language Challenges in Indigenous Mathematics Classrooms. Mathematics Education Library, vol 52. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1994-1_2

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