THE English language?

[shatilof]

In school we learn that is it correct to say either English or the English language, but it is a mistake to say just English language without the.

Yet I recently happened to read an article in some learning materials about New Zealand and the author many times wrote just Maori language (no the), although a few times he did it with the – the Maori language.

How is it possible? Was it a mistake of a native speaker or the rule itself has become shaky?

 

[bhaisahab]

In school we learn that is it correct to say either English or the English language, but it is a mistake to say just English language without the.

Yet I recently happened to read an article in some learning materials about New Zealand and the author many times wrote just Maori language (no the), although a few times he did it with the – the Maori language.

How is it possible? Was it a mistake of a native speaker or the rule itself has become shaky?

It's necessary to see the full context before giving any opinion.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

If you are talking about the noun "the English language" then you would probably need to use "the".

If you use "English language" attributively to modify nouns such as enthusiasts, experts, grammarians etc., it all depends on what you want to say.

English language classes will begin on Monday.
The English language forum is very popular.
How many English language students do you know?

 

[shatilof]

Here is the context:

Recently, Maori language became a core school subject. Many New Zealanders encourage this development, recognising that Maori language is an integral part of New Zealand’s culture. The Maoris probably originated from around Japan, as the pronunciation of the Maori language is very similar to Japanese, and the Japanese can often say Maori words more convincingly than the average non-Maori New Zealander.

 

[bhaisahab]

Here is the context:

Recently, Maori language became a core school subject. Many New Zealanders encourage this development, recognising that Maori language is an integral part of New Zealand’s culture. The Maoris probably originated from around Japan, as the pronunciation of the Maori language is very similar to Japanese, and the Japanese can often say Maori words more convincingly than the average non-Maori New Zealander.

The author wrote "Maori language" twice, not "many times". In both cases s/he was referring to a school subject. I would have used a capital "L" in "language" in the same way that we talk about "English Language" as a subject, but it's OK without the article. "the Maori language" is written once, in the same way we could say "the English language is similar to..."