Language Report: Hawaiian

According to Potter, Kasdon, and Rayson, Hawaiians were descendants of a Caucasian strain (43). The inference is that they journeyed from South and East Asia to the Pacific. Languages of the Pacific resemble one another. The Hawaiian language consists of eight consonants and five vowels. The eight consonants are h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and a glottal stop; in Hawaiian, the glottal stop is called ‘okina (Lynch 78). The five vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. Furthermore, a macron symbol is sometimes placed over a vowel to stress and elongate their sound, which in Hawaiian is called kahako. Consonant sounds were often interchangeable like k and t or w and v due to contact from nearby outer islands. Compared to other languages of the Pacific such as Samoan and Tahitian, the Hawaiian language has a limited set of phonemes; the reason is because Samoa and Tahiti weren’t as isolated from outside influences (Handy et al. 159). However, when missionaries arrived in the 1820’s, the language system was adjusted to a permanent form.
With the overthrow of the Kingdom in 1893 and the following annexation in 1898, the Hawaiian language was banned. By the time the prohibition was officially lifted in 1986, the Hawaiian language had declined. During Cook’s years, 500,000 individuals spoke Hawaiian; today, 9,000 people speak Hawaiian, and 1,000 of them are native speakers from Ni’ihau. Fortunately, the endangered language is being restored.
Today, the Hawaiian language is revitalized through education. Schools offer Hawaiian language. Also, the Hawaiian language has been maintained through hula. The Merrie Monarch Festival is held annually in support for the Hawaiian culture. Hula is also an art practiced in Japan. The Bishop Museum also acknowledges the Hawaiian culture by providing Hawaiian artifacts and antiques. If we make the Hawaiian Culture available to the community, the language will be able to survive and prosper.

Works Cited
Handy, E. S. Craighill. Ancient Hawaiian Civilization. Japan: Charles C. Tuttle Company, 1965.
Lynch, John. Pacific Languages an Introduction. Hawai’i: University of Hawai’i Press Honolulu, 1998.
Potter, Norris W. The Hawaiian Monarchy. Hawai’i: The Bess Press, 1983.