Bibliographies Resources FAQ about the Maori Language Q1. Where is Maori spoken? A1. Mainly in the North Island of New Zealand, in particular in the far North, Central & Eastern areas of the North Island where sizable populations of Maori are found. There are a number of speakers of Maori in all the main urban centres of New Zealand. All (adult) Maori speakers can also speak English. Q2. Were other languages spoken in New Zealand prior to European colonization? A2. Before the 1800s Maori was the only language spoken throughout the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. However, another separate, yet closely related language, Moriori , was spoken in the Chatham Islands to the east of New Zealand [though the Chatham Islands are now politically part of New Zealand]. Moriori is now extinct and has not had any native speakers since the 1930s (though the language has been recorded reasonably extensively in written form). Q3. How many people speak Maori? A3. There are varying estimates. A national census undertaken in 2006 suggests there were approximately 157,000 speakers of Maori (around 4 % of all those living in NZ). However, the Survey on the Health of the Maori Language 2001 suggests there were approximately 29,000 (9 %) Maori adults who were very fluent speakers of Maori. Many of the very fluent speakers of Maori were likely to be over 50 years old. Q4. Is Maori related to any other languages? A4. Yes. Maori is closely related to the language