New Zealand’s decision to recognise a new official language draws sharp criticism: ‘Embarrassing waste of time’

Lawmakers in New Zealand have passed a bill to make English an official language of the country.The move has sparked criticism from some lawmakers and linguistic experts who called it “virtue signalling and a waste of parliamentary time and money while raising the risk of marginalisation of te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.English has now been recognised as an official language alongside the Māori language and New Zealand sign language, giving it the same official status as the other two languages.The English language bill became a law on 30 July. The law will not mean any new rules or changes are needed for it to continue being used in legal, political and government settings or documents.English is already widely used in New Zealand’s courts and parliament, with more than 95 pe