Legislation recognising English as an official language of New Zealand has been passed by parliament, prompting derision from linguists and legal experts and a now-viral broadside from a Māori MP who called it “pathetic”. The English language bill became law on 30 July giving English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Māori (Māori language) and New Zealand sign language. However, experts say it is already considered an official language as a result of usage and custom. Te reo Māori and New Zealand sign language had become official to protect linguistic minorities, they said. Very few English-speaking countries had made English an official language, the officials said, and where they had, it generally coincided with protecting another language – for example in Canada, where law established both French and English are to be used official contexts.