Children’s picture books reflect changing attitudes to languages and can support revitalisation

Nicola Daly, University of Waikato

We know from a wealth of research that children’s picture books support language learning.

During a fellowship at the International Youth Library in Munich, I had an opportunity to examine how languages are represented in multilingual picture books and how their use can reflect their changing status in a society.

This is relevant for New Zealand because the use of te reo Māori in children’s picture books has been increasing since the 1970s, reflecting its reclamation and revitalisation — and I suggest playing an important role in this process, too.

The picture books I analysed in my time at the Youth Library featured as many as 11 languages in one book and were from a range of countries, including South Africa, Poland and Norway.

I found that in those books the languages with larger populations of speakers were typically positioned first, and the order of subsequent languages often followed the relative number of speakers in each country. By giving languages with fewer speakers less prominence, these picture books were reflecting the status quo.

New Zealand picture books featuring Māori and English use a range of approaches to represent the two languages. This shows picture books can be used to support changing attitudes to languages.

The rise of te reo Māori

The use of te reo Māori has increased in trade (commercially available) picture books published in Aotearoa since 1970. The presence and relative space given to te reo Māori and English has also changed over the past 50 years, reflecting changes in the status of the two languages.

In 1973, when te reo Māori was not yet an official language in Aotearoa, Crayfishing with Grandmother – written by Jill Bagnall, illustrated by Barbara Strathdee and translated by Hapi Potae – was first published.

The cover of the book only shows the English title, giving the impression it could be a monolingual picture book. However, within the body of the book, Māori text features on each page, positioned below the English text, but in the same text size and weight.

Some Māori vocabulary is also woven into the English text, and the English reader can access a glossary to help with comprehension. Despite its position on the page, at this time in Aotearoa, the inclusion of Māori alongside the English text was a groundbreaking statement of support for a bilingual future.

A few years later in 1976, Pukunui was published, written and illustrated by James Waerea (Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa). Once again, the English language was the main language of the text, but Waerea’s characters speak te reo Māori in speech bubbles within the illustrations. To support readers who might not be familiar with te reo Māori, Waerea provided a glossary for Māori phrases, translated into English.

In 1981, Te Kuia me te Pūngāwerewere and its English version The Kuia and the Spider were published, written by Patricia Grace (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Āti Awa) and illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Konohi, Whānau-a-Ruataupare).

This appears to be the first time a trade book was published by a major publisher (Penguin) in a Māori and English version simultaneously. While this is now an increasingly common practice, in the early 1980s this dual-version publication broke new ground to ensure that homes where Māori was spoken and schools had access to both language versions.

Reading at home

The new century brought about more developments in dual-language New Zealand books for English speaking parents to use with their children in their home.

Kanohi My face (Reo Pepi, 2015) was created by cousins Kitty Brown (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha) and Kirsten Parkinson (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungungu ki te Wairoa). The collaborators wanted to use te reo Māori at home with their children, but could not find books for babies on the market to support this practice.

The focus on supporting readers to learn te reo Māori is evident in their presentation of Māori text first in a larger and bolder type than English, which comes second on each page.

More recently in 2022, a Matariki story, Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro and the English version How my Koro became a Star, written by Brianne Te Paa (Ngāti Kahu, Ngā Puhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Whānau-a-Apanui) and illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Toa Rangatira), was published by Māori-owned and led publisher Huia.

Their practice of creating two versions of a picture book acknowledges that te reo Māori resources are needed in Māori homes and schools.

Reflecting changing attitudes

The presentation of languages in multilingual children’s picture books often reflects societal beliefs about language or language ideologies.

The ways in which languages are presented also has the power to disrupt or change language attitudes in wider society by exposing readers (both adults and children) to languages, both familiar and unfamiliar.

A distinguishing feature in many contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand picture books is the use of Māori words and phrases without a glossary, recognising that many readers know at least some Māori.

For those who need support, the context and the illustrations aid comprehension and language learning, just as they do for readers of unfamiliar English words.

These picture books reflect and promote inclusive attitudes to te reo Māori. The way we use language reflects who we are, and our picture books provide a permanent record of the languages we seek to pass on to future generations.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.