As Māori language use grows in New Zealand, the challenge is to match deeds to words

A te reo Māori sign in Wellington, which translates to ‘I am Taraika’. New Zealand’s indigenous language is gaining momentum, with the number of fluent speakers growing. Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

When New Zealand’s biggest chocolate maker recently released one of its popular products with Māori-language packaging, the reaction showed how far New Zealand has come in embracing its indigenous tongue – but also how far it still has to go.

While most took Whittakers’ decision to temporarily rename its milk chocolate blocks as Miraka Kirīmi in their stride, there was a small but noisy backlash – and an equally fierce defence of the decision.