Experts in Te Reo Maori Professor Pou Temara and Professor Rangi Matamua have responded to Paul Moon saying his claims that the Maori language is in trouble are ridiculous and out of sync and and example of "white noise".
Paul Moon believes that many of the current approaches used to revitalise te reo are backfiring and the insistence on the correct pronunciation of Maori is damaging the language.
But Mr Temara says "it seems ludicrous to me that an academic should be advocating that we should not waste time on the correct pronunciation of language."
Professor Paul Moon says making te reo compulsory isn't the answer to regenerating the language.
Mr Moon's controversial claims stem from his new book Killing Te Reo Maori: An Indigenous Language Facing Extinction.
Mr Matamua says Mr Moon's comments are "out of sync".
"I think Paul's comments are out of sync with what those who are involved in the revitalisation movement believe.
"He is not involved in those movements at all that I am aware of. He is not someone who is known within kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, kura reo or within these institutions."
"It really smacks of a phenomenon known as white noise where non indigenous people try and tell indigenous people and the rest of the world who they are and what they are," he says.
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