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  • #16
    Re: Translation Help

    Because you have wound Lili'uokalani's name, the goddess Pele's name, and Mary Kawena Puku'is last name into the names of a squad and its characters into your comic book, and because you are now asking for the translation of "children of Lili'uokalani" as the potential name for a fictional highschool in your comic book, get ready to face a lot of opposition from Hawaiian circles, as some people will find it offensive. You could eliminate a lot of this by picking new names for the Hawaiian characters. If the naming is grammatically incorrect, or offensive as it is now, it will be criticized for all eternity by those involved in Hawaiian culture and language.

    1) Talk to an authority on the language at the University of Hawai'i.
    2) Have him or her help you come up with new names for your characters, and to help revise the name of your potential school.
    I ka wā i laulaha ai ka ‘apa‘apa, he hana ho‘āuhuli ka ‘ōlelo ‘ana me ka ‘oia‘i‘o.

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    • #17
      Re: Translation Help

      Hanacoocooleilei!!! Dis is only dee beginning!!!

      What you did is inexcusable!!

      Auntie Lynn
      Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
      Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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      • #18
        Re: Translation Help

        Hi all,

        Just to clear up any confusion, "Children of Lili'uokalani" wasn't the proposed name of the school. It was the possible name of one group of five kids at the fictional school known as "Poseidon Preparatory Academy." The title of the comic book, "Pride High," also doesn't refer to a whole high school, but rather the name of another group of five kids at Poseidon Preparatory Academy. The Hawaiian students in the story are supporting characters and not the main focus of the story. The names were chosen as homages, but I am sorry for the cultural insensitivity. It was not intentional.

        Currently I am in the middle of a production run and can't make changes to the single editions. However I will be compiling Issues 1-7 in the Fall into a single volume, at which point I can make changes from start to finish. What are some possible names that you would like to see for the Hawaiian squad? Pua'i Mana'o suggested "Na niu 'opio."

        Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o
        Think instead of the niu, the coconut. It is very Hawaiian. It is also very Polynesian, in fact all of our Polynesian brethren use the same word, niu, for the coconut. The niu is renown in our lore for floating away, able to carry within it its essence to live again when it survives the treachery of the kai and moana to reach its rightful shores, planting itself and growing tall and regal, giving of itself the finest and sweetest water and fruit.

        I would name the hui "Na niu 'opio" (the young coconuts). If ever someone sees that derisively, such as "brown on the outside white on the inside", remind them that that is a very western way of thinking, and the nobility of the niu looooooong precedes silly modern concepts. The niu has travelled for generations and generations, and no decent beach--or yard--is complete without a kumu niu (coconut tree).
        The character Pele was never meant to be the goddess herself, but rather a young girl with extraordinary, fire-based powers. A friend of mine suggested "Kiluaea" as a better homage and metaphor for the young girl's connection with the goddess. However, I can see how that too might be offensive. What names would work better in your opinion?

        All of the supporting characters of the comic book could easily have been drawn from the standard white, North American archetypes. But as a multiracial individual, I wanted to step beyond that trend and present a wide variety of kids from different backgrounds. Obviously, the danger in doing so is to stumble in presentation from inadequate cultural understanding. I wanted to err on the side of inclusion, however, I now understand I should've asked these questions a lot earlier. As in a year ago. Well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20 . I do appreciate your input and thank you for helping me so far.
        Last edited by verdant75; June 14, 2007, 03:20 PM.

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        • #19
          Re: Translation Help

          There you go...you're back on track!

          Good luck

          Auntie Lynn
          Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
          Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Translation Help

            Originally posted by verdant75 View Post
            Hi all,

            Just to clear up any confusion, "Children of Lili'uokalani" wasn't the proposed name of the school. It was the possible name of one group of five kids at the fictional school known as "Poseidon Preparatory Academy." The title of the comic book, "Pride High," also doesn't refer to a whole high school, but rather the name of another group of five kids at Poseidon Preparatory Academy. The Hawaiian students in the story are supporting characters and not the main focus of the story. The names were chosen as homages, but I am sorry for the cultural insensitivity. It was not intentional.

            Currently I am in the middle of a production run and can't make changes to the single editions. However I will be compiling Issues 1-7 in the Fall into a single volume, at which point I can make changes from start to finish. What are some possible names that you would like to see for the Hawaiian squad? Pua'i Mana'o suggested "Na niu 'opio."



            The character Pele was never meant to be the goddess herself, but rather a young girl with extraordinary, fire-based powers. A friend of mine suggested "Kiluaea" as a better homage and metaphor for the young girl's connection with the goddess. However, I can see how that too might be offensive. What names would work better in your opinion?

            All of the supporting characters of the comic book could easily have been drawn from the standard white, North American archetypes. But as a multiracial individual, I wanted to step beyond that trend and present a wide variety of kids from different backgrounds. Obviously, the danger in doing so is to stumble in presentation from inadequate cultural understanding. I wanted to err on the side of inclusion, however, I now understand I should've asked these questions a lot earlier. As in a year ago. Well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20 . I do appreciate your input and thank you for helping me so far.
            mahalo for being solution-oriented in this. Let's keep on that track:

            fire-based females, for lack of a better description, is not a Hawaiian behavior. It is the specific domain of one of our goddesses, and for many of us, myself included, we mahalo her for her role in our history and her place in our genealogy and we don't see her as a mythological creature, as what that means when such term is used. To see a Hawaiian woman do anything honoring the elementals of fire would be to view her behavior as specific to Pele herself.

            I really would, in your shoes, make up the ancestral lands from which they hail. This is sci-fi we are talking here. You don't want living cultures and their irate members to get in the way of your goal, which is to make great stories. Borne them from ice, and the deepest trenches, and valleys below sea level and levels that share, but do not cross realms because of size and perception--the atomic level, the chemical level, the cellular level, etc.

            Enjoy as you do, but steer clear of living cultures.

            pax

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            • #21
              Re: Translation Help

              Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o View Post
              I really would, in your shoes, make up the ancestral lands from which they hail ... steer clear of living cultures.
              NOW you're talking. A successful formula for writers from Tolkien to LeGuin, among others.

              verdant75, it may be too late to do anything with the single edition runs, but you can make these changes by the fall compilation. (Then, of course, the early editions become collector's items...)

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              • #22
                Re: Translation Help

                Pomaika'i on your story. Still need help with inoa? Email me.
                'Alika

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