A study of the use of the Maori language among residents of the North Island of New Zealand drew on data from interviews with members of 6,470 Maori families over the period 1973-1979. Over 6,915 heads of household gave data concerning their knowledge of the language, their use of it in a variety of situations, and their attitudes and experiences related to the language. In addition, they contributed information about the age, tribal and sub-tribal membership, residential history, education, and knowledge of oral and written Maori of all members of their households. The resulting working paper summarizes this information. Chapters address these issues: domains of language use; registers; structural changes in Maori since the arrival of English; stages of language loss and revival; the Maori experience in a number of periods of history (World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, Post-War Deconstruction); language preferences; the situation in the 1970s; and more recent trends. Appended materials include a list of aspects of the Maori language used in the communities surveyed and summaries of survey data. Contains 17 references. (MSE)