The Hawaiian Language

[KaiShiro]

ALOHA everyone,

This post goes out to my Hawaiiana kumu, kupuna Park, from when I was a keiki. Our kupuna in our class always told the keikis if they wanted to speak local to learn Hawaiian. I remember her saying that pidgin is NOT Hawaiian. And that Hawaiians spoke perfect English before the immigrants came. I remember her talking as if she despised pidgin. And said that pidgin is the immigrants language not the Hawaiians language. She said, the Hawaiian language is beautiful and I get offended when people say pidgin is Hawaiian.

I'm writing this to say that if you are a person that loves Hawaii please consider learning Hawaiian to keep the language alive. And these are not my views. These are the views of a pure Hawaiian woman, kupuna Park. She was a Hawaiiana teacher through 50's to the 80's. And had a real Hawaiian accent which did sound completely different from a pidgin accent.

This was her message to keep the Hawaiian language alive.

ALOHA

[sinjin]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Sup everyone,

...Hawaiians spoke perfect English before the immigrants came.

I think you're right to urge folks to study the Hawaiian language. I don't see any need to give up on learning standard English though. Sup with sup?

[pzarquon]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

You're preaching to the choir. The Hawaiian language was endangered, true, but has been experiencing a wonderful renaissance. You hear it in offices, in stores, read it on signs and find it in the media. Everyone here, as far as I know, finds it as beautiful and priceless as you do. It gets discussed here quite a bit, as a quick search will reveal. Heck, we've recently had a wonderful discussion between two students of `olelo Hawaii, in `olelo Hawaii. And I can't think of anyone I know who wouldn't learn it, had they the time and access.

No one here has said pidgin is Hawaiian, just that there is a pidgin that is distinct to Hawaii. But you've already made the same point in the latest pidgin thread.

[Miulang]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

And Hawaiians spoke Hawaiian fluently...until the missionaries arrived!

Miulang

[LikaNui]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

And Hawaiians spoke Hawaiian fluently...until the missionaries arrived!

Wouldn't that be the same arrivals who created a written version of the Hawaiian language, which we otherwise would not have had and would have made learning Hawaiian one helluva lot more difficult?

[mamapuleta]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Wouldn't that be the same arrivals who created a written version of the Hawaiian language, which we otherwise would not have had and would have made learning Hawaiian one helluva lot more difficult?

Hawaiian sounds pretty, but its a helluva language to learn. I stuck it out for a year, but I'm sorry, I was too thick. It was worse than algebra. Not only that, I didn't have a reference. The neighborhood kids were going to Japanese and Chinese school after regular school and learning a second language, too. Maybe I would've done better, if I had thought about how tough that might be. Anyway, my hat is off to all you guys who did that and do that now. You guys rock.

[Hi Tone]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

I've been trying to learn basic hawaiian words. Just for kicks, I looked up my mom's surname, "Palaualelo". Hmmm, I wonder who gave us that last name.

[LikaNui]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Originally Posted by Miulang:
And Hawaiians spoke Hawaiian fluently...until the missionaries arrived!

Wouldn't that be the same arrivals who created a written version of the Hawaiian language, which we otherwise would not have had and would have made learning Hawaiian one helluva lot more difficult?

Still waiting for an answer...

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Originally Posted by Miulang:
And Hawaiians spoke Hawaiian fluently...until the missionaries arrived!


Still waiting for an answer...

The missionaries didn't create the alphabet. They presented the opportunity to the Hawaiians. She who deserves credit for creating the pi-a-pa is Kaomimoe, so if we are going to honor the mother of Hawaiian literacy, it wasn't a missionary.

</Lika's wait>

['i'iwipolena]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

I've been trying to learn basic hawaiian words. Just for kicks, I looked up my mom's surname, "Palaualelo". Hmmm, I wonder who gave us that last name.

I, too, have wondered how certain Hawaiian names came about, such as Ka'aihue, Hale'ole, Kanaka'ole, etc... My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Kahawai'i, and I never got around to asking her how we got that name.

As for learning the Hawaiian language, I think it's a great idea for everyone. Certainly, in the beginning it can be difficult, and from what I've seen it is even harder for some people who haven't had much exposure to the language. But after a few months of practice, which could be in the form of reading short stories, most sentence patterns sink in and become instinctive. Another thing that's cool about Hawaiian is that once you learn it, it seems much easier to learn other related languages. For example, I just started learning New Zealand Maori the other week, and because Hawaiian and Maori share quite a bit of grammar and vocabulary, I've developed a pretty decent understanding of basic Maori in a relatively short time.

[Miulang]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Originally Posted by Miulang:
And Hawaiians spoke Hawaiian fluently...until the missionaries arrived!


Still waiting for an answer...

For me, it's easier to learn a language by speaking it rather than studying a written taxonomy. I remember the struggles I had with trying to learn Latin, which only exists in textual form now, even though it survives to some extent in the Romance languages (like French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, which I have also dabbled in).

Miulang

P.S. The kanaka maoli took to learning English readily (it probably helped that the keiki of the ali'i were some of the first to be taught by the missionaries, so as they came into power, they also encouraged their people to learn English too), but in doing so, it nearly brought about the demise of the Hawaiian language. Had it not been for the kupuna, Hawaiian might have gone the way of the Latin language...to be studied only by scholars, rather than to thrive as a living breathing embodiment of a culture.

[LikaNui]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Can anybody answer the simple question of who set down the Hawaiian language in writing?

[Miulang]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Can anybody answer the simple question of who set down the Hawaiian language in writing?

I thought Pua'i answered your question? (See #9). From Wikipedia:
"...When the missionaries first created a written form of Hawaiian Language, they did not write the kahakos or 'okinas; leaving it to the context to make the meanings evident.

Since the intent was to translate the Bible ("Paipala"), natives forgave some of the confusions created, but nonetheless, latched onto the way that unintended "double entendres" could appear in written form as a source of humor. When later, Hawaiian language newspapers appeared, Native speaking writers and editors took care to avoid these (the type that was available to "set" did not include such "specialty" characters).

'Olelo Hawai'i is rich in mataphor much as the Navajo language (recall how US secret codes were based on it) which calls a submarine a "metal trout"; only perhaps more playful. Redundancy and double entendre are considered part of the richness of its heritage, these days.

Retrieved from "http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_language"

[Miulang]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Another interesting piece of scholarly information:

"...Historical Use of Indigenous Literacy: I will begin by examining a "community" in which inclusion of indigenous literacy as part of language revitalization efforts has been readily accepted, the indigenous peoples of the state of Hawai'i. Prior to the events that led to annexation, Hawaiian was the primary language of the islands as well as the main language of the schools (Ka`awa & Hawkins, 1997). The Hawai'i public school system included the first high school west of the Rocky Mountains, and its curriculum and administration were entirely in the Hawaiian language (Kamana & Wilson, 1996). Protestant missionaries had developed a writing system in the early nineteenth century, and by the mid 1800s Hawaiian language newspapers were quite common and the literacy rate (Hawaiian literacy) was among the highest in the world (Hinton, 1997). Unfortunately, English-only legislation closed down the Hawaiian language schools in 1896. In 1983, the 'Aha Punana Leo was formed with the goal of reestablishing Hawaiian medium education. Family run preschools were developed in 1984, and by 1987 the State Board of Education was persuaded to open two kindergarten-first grade Hawaiian medium classes to serve the children from Punana Leo (Kamana & Wilson, 1996). The decision to establish Hawaiian medium schools inevitably led to a need for materials. The fact that Hawaiian literacy had once been so prevalent apparently led to the unquestioned decision to include a written form of Hawaiian in revitalization efforts.

The use of the written form of Hawaiian outside of schools today is rather limited, but it is possible to find Hawaiian signs and newspapers in public. Ka`awa and Hawkins (1997) report that it is possible to write checks in Hawaiian. There are several Hawaiian language web pages, and one can purchase a Hawaiian language version of Clarisworks®. Hinton's (1997) paper details observations of the uses of indigenous literacy within Hawaiian language immersion schools. In the classrooms she observed there were numbers, the alphabet, and captioned pictures, all in Hawaiian. A bilingual dictionary including new Hawaiian words (thousands have been developed, especially scientific terms) is published every few years and is always in a prominent place within classrooms. The University of Hawai'i at Hilo publishes a Hawaiian language newspaper that is distributed and read mainly within the immersion schools. Books and curriculum materials are developed centrally and sent to all the schools. English books, such as The Little Engine That Could, are Hawaiianized by pasting Hawaiian language labels over the English text. A number of pieces of literature, both English and traditional Hawaiian, are being translated and/or published for use both inside and outside of school. Technology is playing a large role in establishing domains for written Hawaiian (Ka`awa & Hawkins, 1997). And, of course, the Bible has been written in Hawaiian.

While parents, teachers, and children are "deeply enthusiastic about their work and deeply dedicated to the survival of the Hawaiian language and culture" (Hinton, 1997, p. 17), the process has not been without conflict. Because of the use of Hawaiian within the schools and the need to write textbooks, thousands of new words have been added to the Hawaiian lexicon. A lexicon committee exists that has as its job the coining of new words to be disseminated to the public (Kamana & Wilson, 1996). Many of the Kapuna--the Hawaiian word for elders--are uncomfortable with the way the language is now spoken with its different vocabulary and intonation. While literacy cannot be blamed for all of the new vocabulary, it certainly has played a large role in making Hawaiian sound "like a foreign language" to the Kapuna. ..."

Even today, it is claimed that the only "true speakers" of the 'Olelo Hawai'i as it was spoken pre-1900 are the kanaka maoli who reside on Niihau, who do speak a slightly different dialect. Of course, one of the traits of a viable language is that it does mutate over time, unlike "dead" languages like Latin.

Miulang

['i'iwipolena]

Re: The Hawaiian Language.

Many of the Kupuna--the Hawaiian word for elders--are uncomfortable with the way the language is now spoken with its different vocabulary and intonation. While literacy cannot be blamed for all of the new vocabulary, it certainly has played a large role in making Hawaiian sound "like a foreign language" to the Kupuna. ..."

Even today, it is claimed that the only "true speakers" of the 'Olelo Hawai'i as it was spoken pre-1900 are the kanaka maoli who reside on Niihau, who do speak a slightly different dialect. Of course, one of the traits of a viable language is that it does mutate over time, unlike "dead" languages like Latin.

The Hawaiian language as it is spoken now by those who have learned it as a second language is markedly different from the Hawaiian spoken by our mānaleo. Dr. Emily Hawkins has done a great deal of research in the Hawaiian language. I will quote part of the introduction in her research paper titled Distribution and Function of Hawaiian ANA.

"For the purpose of doing this research I limited my core data to literature from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. These materials were originally written without the macron and the glottal stop represented, but they have been respelled using both. My reason for choosing these written texts rather than modern spoken Hawaiian emanates from concern about the living language resources. There are currently three groups speaking Hawaiian. The first is a small elderly group raised in Hawaiian speaking homes, but whose first language was stifled when they began primary school. Most of them have had limited oppurtunities to speak Hawaiian since their childhood ahd have either not developed or perhaps lost some features found in the language of their parents' generation. The second group are speakers of the Ni'ihau dialect, a community which has been partially sheltered from the intimidating influence of American culture and English. As a community with a small number of speakers it has the distinction of having become the most innovative in changing the language. Although it might seem to be the perfect source for language data, Ni'ihau Hawaiian has not been adopted as the standard for use and education on the rest of the islands. The third group are those who have learned Hawaiian either in a school setting as a second language or young people who have learned from these second language learners. Some of the habits of the learner group have skewed the language by making common patterns uncommon and vice-versa. As a language teacher and a linguist I am still trying to understand and explain "traditional" grammar so that my students will be less likely to add to unnecessary changes in Hawaiian. Modern Hawai'i has adopted, in some respects unwillingly, an American world view, therefore, the language cannot avoid changing but some of that process might be mitigated if we use today's tools of analysis to more fully understand the beauty of the language from a time when it was vibrant."

The Hawaiian language spoken by second language learners is closer to English than traditional Hawaiian. In my family, everyone above my parents' generation, on both sides of my family, spoke Hawaiian fluently. My grandmother, whom I live with currently, is a native speaker of the language, and she finds it awkward that many patterns using verb statives are not used by those speaking the university dialect of Hawaiian, and instead, they add the causative/simulative prefix to the base and use them as verb transitives.

As for Ni'ihau Hawaiian, it is very difficult for me to understand what it's speakers are saying. From taped interviews I've seen with Tuti Kanahele conversing with speakers of the Ni'ihau dialect, they speak very quickly and mumble some parts of their words. But the fact that they substitute the letter t in some areas and the letter k in others is not a problem for me.