ワイカト大学（The University of Waikato)で応用言語学を学ぶと同時に、マオリ語の初級講座を受講して、マオリ語による簡単な挨拶程度は話せるようになった私は、マオリ文化の影響が色濃く残る北島は東海岸のトータルエマージョンスクールやコハンガ・レオを訪問した際、子どもたちや生徒に挨拶をするときに、私は、まずマオリ語で長く話したかったが、さすがにそれは不可能だったので、まず簡単な自己紹介をマオリ語でして、日本語に切りかえて挨拶を続け、その後、今回紹介したような内容を主に英語で長く話をした。
ニュージーランド戦争跡地のフィールドワークとしても、北島を中心に1万キロほど日本の中古車で走ってきた。ワイタンギ・デーには、ウエリントンにあるビクトリア大学に1年間お世話になることになった娘とワイタンギにも出かけ、新聞社の簡単なインタビューも受けた。他にいろいろと紹介したい話もあるが、紙幅に限りもある。別の機会としたい。
この小論を終えるにあたって、昨年2004年度に大学から1年間にわたる海外研修の機会を得ることができたこと、さらに職場の方々に支えていただいたことを、ここに感謝したい。
Clumsy English Writing of Mine
‘Aotearoa New Zealand and the Two Official Languages’ (8)
Acknowledgments
When I visited Total Emersion School and Kohanga Reo on the east coast of the North Island, where Māori culture still remains strong, I could speak small greetings in Māori, because I had studied applied linguistics and taken a beginner’s course in Māori at the University of Waikato. I wanted to speak in Māori language as long as I could, when I was asked to greet children and students, but it was impossible. So I first gave a brief self-introduction in Māori, switched to Japanese, and continued speaking Japanese until their endurance came to an end, followed by a long conversation in my own English mainly about the same topics I have written and posted here so far.
As for fieldwork of the New Zealand war site, I have driven about 10,000 km around the North Island in a Japanese used Subaru car. On Waitangi Day, I also went to Waitangi with my daughter, who will be staying and studying at Victoria University in Wellington for a year, and she had a brief interview from a newspaper reporter. There are many other stories I would like to tell, but space is limited. I would like to leave it for another time.
In concluding this essay, I would like to thank the people at my workplace for their support and for giving me the opportunity to participate in a year-long overseas training program at the university in 2004.
