The Stuff Group Te Puna, Straker and Microsoft have partnered to increase the number of articles in te reo Māori. The unique pilot programme supports the revitalisation of te reo Māori and helps normalise it through Stuff’s platforms, digital channels and publications.
The technology partnership with Microsoft and Straker combines human translation with artificial intelligence, enabling the translation of content at scale, which is quality-checked by translators and editors before publication.
Stuff’s Pou Tiaki Matua Carmen Parahi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hine, Rongowhakaata) says: “Bilingual articles aren’t new at Stuff, we’ve been producing them for years. But this is the first time we will be using AI to translate even more articles at scale, which will be quality-checked by a human translator and our editorial team before being published.”
Over the past few years, Stuff has steadily increased the amount of te reo Māori it uses, introducing bilingual product titles, news, blog, video and audio content. Since 2020, Stuff has been publishing selected bilingual news articles across a range of subjects with the support of Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission and NZ On Air Irirangi Te Motu.
However, the process took time, which limited the ability to translate live or breaking news. Although Stuff increased its te reo Māori content from one to two articles a week to one or two a day, it’s a small number compared to over one hundred pieces of English content being published each day.
“We’ve made it very clear we support the revitalisation of te reo Māori, a taonga and official language of New Zealand,” adds Parahi. “Our journey started with introducing macrons on Māori words, and continues with our ability to now scale our te reo Māori capability with AI. It’s integral to our Pou Tiaki fair representation strategy, and commitments we made in our company charter.”
Stuff Group Chief Executive Laura Maxwell (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Awa) adds: “We’re pleased to be working with Straker and Microsoft on developing the te reo Māori translation tool. It means our audience will be able to engage with more bilingual Māori and English articles every day. We’re thrilled to amplify and promote the use of te reo Māori across Aotearoa.”
Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Straker, Grant Straker (Ngāti Raukawa) says: “When I was going to school as a young Māori in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, te reo Māori was not spoken or taught in schools, and actively discouraged in general. After 20 years of building a global translation technology company, this is an especially personal career highlight. It means that today’s generation of Māori and everyone that comes after will be able to engage with regular news content in their own language.”
Adds Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft Aotearoa New Zealand: “Artificial intelligence is the talk of almost every organisation these days, but it’s not about how technology can do more than humans. It’s about how this technology can do more with humans, for humans, and for the things that are important to us. We’re delighted to be working with two truly visionary local organisations to show how technology can be a real enabler for Aotearoa society and culture.”
Stuff’s translated bilingual articles can be found at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/te-ao-maori/he-purongo-reo-maori
*translated by AI and Stuff’s kaiwhakamāori
E whakapakari ana te hinengaro rorohiko i te whakamahi i te reo Māori ki te pae matihiko rongo kōrero nui rawa atu o Aotearoa
Kua pāhekoheko a Stuff Group Te Puna, Straker me Microsoft ki te whakarahi ake i ngā pūrongo reo Māori, koia rā te reo taketake o Aotearoa. He mea ahurei te hōtaka whakamātau nei e taituarā ana i te whakahaumanu ki te reo rangatira hei whakamāori i a ia mā ā Puna pae arapāho, ara matihiko me āna pānui maha.
Mā tēnei rangapū mahitahi hangarau ki ā Straker me Microsoft, e hanumi ana tā te tangata whakamāori me te hinengaro rorohiko, e taea ai te whakawhitinga o ngā ihirangi maha, e hihiratia ana e te tangata i mua i te whakaputa.
E kī ana te Pou Tiaki Matua o Puna a Carmen Parahi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hine, Rongowhakaata); “Ehara i te mea hōu ngā pūrongo reorua i Puna, he maha ngā tau i hangaia ai e mātou. Engari ko tēnei te wā tuatahi ka whakamahi mātou i te hinengaro rorohiko hei whakamāori i ētahi atu pūrongo kia whakarahi ake ai, ā, ka hihiratia e tētahi kaiwhakamāori tangata me tā mātou tīma tuhinga i mua i te whakaputanga.”
I ngā tau tata nei, kua nui haere tā Puna whakamahi i te reo Māori i runga i ngā ingoa reorua hou kua tapaina, ngā pitopito kōrero, ngā hauhiko, ngā ataata me ngā ihirangi ororongo. Nō muri mai i te 2020, kua whakaputaina e Puna ngā pūrongo pitopito kōrero reorua mō ngā kaupapa whānui, nā Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori me te Irirangi Te Motu i tautoko.
Heoi anō, i roa te wā o te tukanga, nā whai anō i raweke tēnei ahuatanga i te whakamāori i ngā rongo inamata. Ahakoa i whakanuia e Puna āna ihirangi reo Māori mai i te kotahi ki te rua pūrongo noa iho rānei ia wiki ki te rua i ia rangi, he iti rawa iho tēnei i te koni atu i te kotahi rau pūrongo reo Ingarihi kua whakaputaina rangi atu rangi mai.
“E karangatia mārika ana e mātou o Puna kei te tautoko mātou i te whakahaumanu i te reo Māori, he taonga, he reo ōkawa o Aotearoa,” te kī āpiti a Parahi. “I tīmata tā mātou haerenga i te tāpiri i ngā tohutō ki ngā kupu Māori, e haere tonu ana i runga i te whakarahi ake i ngā pūrongo reorua mā te hinengaro rorohiko e āwhina. E whakatinana ana tēnei mahi i tā mātou rautaki Pou Tiaki whakaatu tangata tika me ō mātou kī taurangi i roto tō mātou kawenata kamupene.”
Hei tā te tumuaki Stuff Group a Laura Maxwell (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Awa): “E hari ana mātou ki te mahitahi me Straker me Microsoft hoki ki te whakawhanake i te utauta whakawhitinga reo Māori. Ko te tikanga ka taea e tō mātou hunga kaimātakitaki te whaiwāhi ki ētahi anō pūrongo reorua i te reo Māori me te reo Ingarihi i ia rā. E koa rawa ana mātou ki te whakanui, ki te whakatenatena hoki i te whakamahi o te reo Māori puta noa i Aotearoa.”
Hei tā Grant Straker (Ngāti Raukawa), tētahi o ngā kaihanga, me te tumuaki o Straker: “I ahau e kuraina ana hei taitama Māori i te ngahurutau 1970 me te ihu o te ngahurutau 1980, kāore i kōrerotia, i whakaakona rānei te reo Māori i nga kura, a, ka whakapeka i te wā katoa. Kua rua tekau tau i hangaia e au tētahi kamupene hangarau whakawhiti reo huri noa, heoi anō he mahi tino miharo tēnei e tata ana ki tōku ngākau. Ko te tikanga ka taea e te whakatupuranga Māori o tēnei wā me ngā mea e whai ake nei te whaiwāhi ki ngā ihirangi rongo kōrero i tō rātou ake reo.”
E ai ki a Vanessa Sorenson, ko te kaiwhakahaere matua o Microsoft Aotearoa New Zealand, hei āpiti: “He marau kōrero nui o te wā te hinengaro rorohiko, engari ehara i te mea ka toa whakaihuwaka te hangarau kia tuarua a ngāi tāngata. Ko te pātai nui me pēhea tēnei hangarau e mahitahi ake ana ki a tātou o ngāi tāngata, mō te tangata, me ngā mea e hira ana ki a tātou. E ngākaunui ana mātou i tēnei hononga ki ēnei kāhui matakite paetata e whakaatu ana i ngā hua maha o te hangarau hei whakapakari i ngā ahurea me ngā hāpori o Aotearoa.”
Pānuitia ngā pūrongo reorua o Puna i whakamāoritia ki konei:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/te-ao-maori/he-purongo-reo-maori
*I whakamāoritia tēnei pānuitanga e te hinengaro rorohiko me te kaiwhakamāori a Puna