Hawaiian Dictionaries: Reliable vs. Not

Aloha,

On my first visit to the island of Niihau, I was part of a group of master's students (I had no degree at that time). During our trip, I recall moments when students would converse with a native speakers. However, when these students used certain words, the native speakers appeared visibly perplexed. It wasn't until later, when our professor - herself a Niihau native - explained that if you use these words, my friends and family won't have a clue what you're saying. 

I've personally witnessed how these new words are entirely unintelligible to native speakers. These new terms bear no connection to traditional vocabulary, making it impossible for native speakers to decipher them. 

Now, let's delve into dictionaries: which ones to use and which one to steer clear of. Here's my concise list:

• The Hawaiian Dictionary
• Parker’s Dictionary
• Andrew’s Dictionary
• Mamaka Kaiao Dictionary 

Mamaka Kaiao is the one you should avoid. I've already mentioned one key reason: the terms it contains are incomprehensible to native speakers. Allow me to elaborate and provide further reasons.

Many entries in this dictionary take old words, removing various components, then merging them with one or two other terms. Combining multiple words to form one term is a common practice in Hawaiian, but the issue lies in the removal of parts of an old term. This practice is a major factor behind the unintelligibility of these terms.

In a recent podcast featuring Keao Nesmith, he noted that they're crafting words from an English-speaking perspective. I highly recommend it!

Here's another concern: there are native speakers still among us today, and they should make up a substantial portion of such committees. The question arises: why aren't they included?

To put it in perspective, it's akin to having Japanese speakers form a committee in America, invent their own words, and start using them in conversation with native English speakers. It's an absurd notion.  

Please send me an email, and let's engage in a meaningful conversation.

Mahalo,

Malu