Language report: The Hawaiian Language

The Hawaiian Language, otherwise known as `ölelo Hawai`i, has 500 or less native speakers and 3000 or more second language speakers showing minimal or above minimal proficiency, as of a survey taken in 2008. (AmtaWeb.com) Majority of the fluent speakers live on Kaua`i and Moloka`i, while the second language speakers live throughout Hawai`i. Other then Hawai`i, the Hawaiian language is not spoken elsewhere in the world, meaning if this language were to ever be lost one day in Hawai`i, there is no place elsewhere to relearn it.



Languages closest related to the Hawaiian language are spread throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans, which include Tahitian, Marquesan, Maori, Samoan, and Tongan. “More than 200 Hawaiian words have been traced to a specific proto-Malayo-Polynesian language used in Southeast Asia 5,000 years ago.” (MSNEncarta.com)

Luckily for the people of Hawaiian ancestry, many documents are posted online that include linguistic work, which will benefit us to help spread the Hawaiian language so it’s not lost altogether one day. Such works include Omniglot, which is a writing language website to help spread the grammar of the language, Wehewehe, which translates Hawaiian into English words and vise versa, and Aloha-Hawai`i, which is a website directed to a few meaningful Hawaiian words, explaining their meaning and even including sound files that voices the Hawaiian words correctly for the listener to hear. The last website, AndHawaii, gets into the technical grammatical sentence structures for people who really want to learn the language and want to learn it in a specific and grammatically correct way. It also caters to a few common and uncommon Hawaiian words that may pop up in everyday conversations with people in Hawai`i.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hawaiian.htm
http://wehewehe.org/
http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/native+tongue/
http://www.andhawaii.com/hawaii/vacation/culture/trad.html

Hawaiian is an analytic language, meaning it’s not characterized by grammatical endings and there is no use of inflection. “Instead the grammatical meaning of words is marked by adjacent particles (short words) and their relative positions. Hawaiian is a VSO language.” (Wikipedia.com)

Some example verb phrase patterns:
ua verb perfective
e verb ana imperfective
ke verb nei present progressive
e verb imperative
mai verb negative imperative
(Wikipedia.com)

After the decline of the Hawaiian language from the 1830’s to the 1950’s, a gradual increase in the language has taken place. The 1980’s were the beginning of the development of Hawaiian immersion schools and the growth of studying Hawaiian as a second language. Today Hawaiian is the second most popular language to learn in colleges and universities, growing over 200% in the last 10 years.

1996 was a very memorable year, proclaiming it the "Year of the Hawaiian Language." Language related events were being held throughout the islands with intentions to "raise awareness in the general public about Hawaiian and encourage groups and individuals to study, use and respect the language." (GoHawaii.com)

The Hawaiian culture and language is very important to the people of Hawai`i. Many Hawaiian figures have been raised or grew up in Hawai`i that have influenced the lives of many, including Barrack Obama the new president of the United States of Hawai`i, Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo`ole a musician and singer-songwriter, and Eddie Aikau a respected lifeguard and surfer.

Songs are one of the most common ways that Hawaiians have voiced their thoughts and spread their culture to those willing to listen. Such inspirational songs are E Ala E by Braddah Iz, which speaks about “Defending our birth right to be free, give our children liberty.” Another song, Kaulana Na Pua, written by Ellen Prendergast protests the overthrow of Queen Lili`uokalani, and is voiced purely in Hawaiian, but translates to such lyrics as “Famous are the children of Hawai`i, ever loyal to the land, when the evil-hearted messenger comes with his greedy document of extortion.” (Mele.com)

Works Cited List:
Hawaii Map. Jan. 2008. Jan. 2008. 12 Feb. 2009 .

"Hawaiian." Omniglot: writing systems and languages of the world. 12 Feb. 2009 .

"Hawaiian Language." MSN Encarta. 12 Feb. 2009 .

"Hawaiian language." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 12 Feb. 2009 .

NeSmith, Keao. "Background and Potential." The Hawaiian Language. 23 Oct. 2008. University of Hawaii at Manoa. 12 Feb. 2009 .

"The Hawaiian Language Today." Hawaii and South Pacific Travel - About.com Hawaii and South Pacific Travel Guide. 12 Feb. 2009 .

The world's source of Hawaiian music since 1995, with thousands of Hawaiian music CD titles, thousands of sound samples, Hawaiian music event calendar, and links to Hawaiian musicians' websites. 12 Feb. 2009 .

Ulukau. 2004. Hawaiian Electronic Library. 12 Feb. 2009 .
Flores, Kalani E. "Native Tongue A Hawaiian Glossary." Aloha-Hawaii. 12 Feb. 2009 .

Weber, Lisa. "Hawaiian Language Introduction." Adventures n Discoveries Hawaii. 12 Feb. 2009 .