ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the matters as they pertain to sociolinguistics and community activism. Sociolinguistics has two distinct links with community activism in pursuit of linguistic supports for an endangered language: concerns around language rights and research ethics. For Maori, ethics are based on tikanga, a process by which the right thing is done, and done in the correct manner. The context for the Maori people and te reo Maori is briefly outlined, followed by illustrations of Maori community activism, where such action has resulted in gains for the ongoing survival and maintenance of te reo. S. May provides a comprehensive overview of the issues surrounding minority language rights. Members of the community must be engaged in the research at all stages, and the ethical responsibility of the researcher must be to the target minority group themselves, "from identification of community needs to interpretation of results and implementation of any proposed actions".
