In August 2007, as Chairman of the New Zealand Māori Internet Society, I wrote an open letter to InternetNZ and the Domain Name Commissioner. It proposed that the existing .nz domain name system be made available in both of Aotearoa’s official spoken languages, te reo Māori and English.
The proposal did not ask for a new set of second-level domains. It asked that every existing unmoderated .nz second-level domain have a Māori equivalent: .mahi.nz alongside .co.nz, .ipu.nz alongside .net.nz, .rōpū.nz alongside .org.nz, .noa.nz alongside .gen.nz, .kura.nz alongside .school.nz, and .wānanga.nz alongside .ac.nz.
Any registrant would automatically be able to use their domain bilingually, without paying for a second registration and without risking a dispute with someone already holding the name. Taking up the Māori version would be optional.
The argument rested on the status te reo Māori already had in law and in national life, and on what Te Tiriti o Waitangi requires of the organisations that run our national infrastructure. The internet was built for an English-speaking world. Endangered Indigenous languages like ours were being pushed aside online, while other language communities, such as the Catalans with .cat, were claiming their own space in internet infrastructure.
The letter is republished below. To note the responce back was as simple one liner “This does not meet out Policies”.
Open Letter to InternetNZ and DNC
18 August 2007
Keith Davidson Debbie Monohan
Executive Director Domain Name Commissioner
InternetNZ DNC
InternetNZ and DNC, Tēnā koe.
Re: Bilingual Domain Name System for .nz
Summary
New Zealand Māori Internet Society are writing to propose that the existing un-moderated .nz domain name hierarchy for .nz is made available bilingually to represent that Aotearoa/New Zealand is a legally bilingual country and to support its indigenous people’s cultural and
linguistic requirements.
We are not proposing a new set of 2LD’s are created as per the DNC 2LD policies. We are asking that the existing .nz DNS is made available in both of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s officially spoken languages Māori and English.
Thus ensuring that any .nz registrant can be bilingual with out the added expense of a new registration and the possibility of disputes with an already registered domain name. We also anticipate that any future unmoderated 2LD’s are also immediately made bilingual on its release
date.
An example of our proposal would be www.internet.net.nz is also available if InternetNZ wishes to utilise it as www.internetnz.ipu.nz .If InternetNZ did not wish to recognise it then they would not be obliged to.
Background:
The Internet is constantly maturing and adapting to the dynamics of the world. The original infrastructure of the Internet was founded on and catered exclusively to an English speaking centric world. This existing infrastructure is fast becoming obsolete and is constantly evolving.
Endangered indigenous languages such as Māori are being overrun by the English-centric Internet, however some languages are taking their fight for survival and status seriously. One culture the Catalan applied to ICANN and was approved for their own TLD .cat . The Scottish are currently discussing their own TLD as is the German district of Berlin.
Aotearoa/New Zealand Internet infrastructure has slowly matured with the creations of .iwi.nz, .maori.nz and the discussions for IDN implementation to be on track with the international internet communities maturity.
Proposal
New Zealand Maori Internet Society are proposing the following bilingual 2LD’s for .nz as follows (in draft format):
- .co.nz mahi.nz
- .net.nz .ipu.nz
- .org.nz .ropu.nz
- .gen.nz .noa.nz
- school.nz kura.nz
- ac.nz wananga
- nz wānanga
If other Māori 2LD’s do not exist and there is a demand for them we accept that the new Community of Interest will follow the policy and procedures as set out by the DNC.
We have raised several issues in favour of a bilingual .nz DNS which will ensure the Aotearoa/NZ internet infrastructure would become language agnostic between our two national spoken languages; InternetNZ would recognise its commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and the status of Te Reo Maori.
As an example of this countries commitment to recognising Maori as a legal language:
- Māori language is the only other official spoken language of Aotearoa/New Zealand described under statute.
- Aotearoa/New Zealand founding legal documents described a partnership between European and Māori and the protection of Intellectual Property and identity.
- New Zealand is known by its bilingual name Aotearoa.
- Many national icons are known by their bilingual names. Aoraki/Mount Cook, Taranaki/Mount Egmont . There are a plethora of examples.
- Aotearoa/New Zealand have a bilingual National Anthem.
- Aotearoa/New Zealand have bilingual passports.
- Aotearoa/New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks perform a Māori Haka prior to each game they represent our country.
- .maori.nz is not a one size fits all. If a bicultural organisation desires to use .maori.nz they appear to be pro Māori or vice versa by using .co.nz .
- .iwi.nz is solely for the handful of Māori organisations that are eligible.
- Upon Kia ora being expressed in New Zealand, it is commonly understood as a Māori greeting. Kia ora is one of the 500 Māori words which has been adopted into NZ English language.
- Little or no confusion would occur as status quo would still prevail but with an added option if desired.
- Microsoft Corporation, Google, Apple and copious Open Source software is available in Māori and or the option to do so is available.
- Kura Kaupapa Māori have were given the legal right to use “Kura” instead of “School” on their school bus.
The .nz name space will not be polluted for the following reasons:
- Each registrant will still have control to their own domain name.
- A registrant does not have to acknowledge that a bilingual 2ld exists for their 2LD.
- The DNS table will not be affected with multiple new fields in the parent directory.
- The DNC New 2LD policy and various other policies could be slightly modified to accommodate a bilingual DNS.
- The community of interest would know they could use either domain.
How to cite this page
Taiuru, K. (2007, August 9). Open letter – Bilingual Domain Name System for .nz. Taiuru & Associates Ltd. https://www.taiuru.co.nz/open-letter-bilingual-domain-name-system-for-nz/