Bill English has reiterated comments made last week that Te Reo can only be saved by Maori families willing to speak it.

At a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, the National Party leader said the government couldn't be relied upon to save the language.

"If you're going to rely on the government to save Te Reo then it does not have a good future because the government can't make people do it.

"The survival of the language is fundamentally dependent on the families and communities who own it and speak it," he said.

English said that he was optimistic the language would survive.

"The kohanga reo or kura kaupapa movement has brought through a generation of speakers and a lot of that generation are parents now and they're able to have enough Maori spoken in their homes and I think that is the future of the language," he said.

English's comments follow the publishing of a controversial book "Killing Te Reo Maori", that claims an over-emphasis on pronunciation is ruining the language.

The author, Professor Paul Moon, says that without practical applications for the language, like the English language commands, Te Reo is doomed to die.

Moon's comments have been rebuffed by a number of prominent Maori journalists and public servants through #letssharegoodtereostories.

Labour MP Kiri Allan tweeted, "My dad, a white fella from Gore, secretly learnt te reo for a year so he could speak on the paepae at my 21st. He was epic. He is epic. He reckoned, what's good for Maori is good for all New Zealanders."

The Italian ambassador to New Zealand also tweeted: "I'm the Italian Ambassador to NZ and I'm taking te reo language classes. Understanding this country requires at least a basic knowledge of its original people and their fascinating culture. He taonga te reo."

- NZ Newswire