New Zealand MP calls English a ‘bastard’ language during parliamentary debate
New Zealand Green MP Tamatha Paul has called English a “bastard” language during a parliamentary debate of a bill that makes English an official language alongside Te Reo Māori and sign language.
Paul called the bill’s proponents a “bunch of snowflakes that hear the word Aotearoa and cry themselves to sleep”, noting English was not an official language of England.
In her speech, she explained why Te Reo Māori has a protected language status as she argued the English language bill “wasted” Parliament’s final 100 days before the election on a bill “that does not matter, while New Zealanders struggle to survive”.
Māori and New Zealand Sign Language have been the country’s only official languages in law, with English holding “de facto” status. Te reo Māori gained recognition through the Māori Language Act 1987.
Supporter of the bill, New Zealand First MP Casey Costello, said that the move “provides a clear statement about the status of English within New Zealand’s official framework”.
