Telling stories: analysing Māori and Pākehā workplace narratives

Abstract

The concept of encounter between Māori and Pākehā which has been the focus of so much historical and anthropological research also provides a rich source of insight for sociolinguists interested in the details of everyday workplace talk. Exploring the concept of ‘the culture order’ we discuss ways in which workplace narratives may provide evidence of subtle differences in Māori and Pākehā ways of telling stories at work. More than twenty years ago, examining Māori and Pākehā narratives in conversational contexts, features were identified in the narrative structure, as well as in the preoccupations of the different ethnic groups, which could be interpreted as contributing to the construction of distinctive ethnic identities. More recently, the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project (LWP) team has turned attention to workplace narratives, noting nuanced construction of identity in this discourse activity. We offer evidence of hybridised identities which allow for positive orientation to Te Ao Māori while navigating a Pākehā-dominant corporate world.