Are you sure you are pronouncing this word right?

Aloha e kuu poe heluhelu,

Pretend for a minute that you’ve never heard English spoken.

If you saw the word “psych” written, how would you know how to pronounce it? You might try something like, “puh-s-eye-ch,” right? This is a very real dilemma for 2nd language speakers of English. Now because you have heard this word spoken, you know it is pronounced “s-eye-k. The p is silent, and ch is pronounced “kuh”. It breaks some “rules”, but you wouldn’t know that if you never heard it spoken. 

How about the word “read”? (We’ve talked about this one before). Without context, you wouldn’t know if you should pronounce it “read”, like the color red, or “read” like a reed in a pond. 

Sometimes Hawaiian words break “rules” too. How would you pronounce laila, meaning “there”? You’re probably saying “mah-lah-ee-lah”. That makes sense if you’re reading it and have never heard it spoken by a native speaker. Listen to these 3 mini clips to hear how it is pronounced (it is often pronounced differently than it is spelled). 

Laila Pronunciation

This is another example of why listening to and learning from native speakers is so important to perpetuate accuracy and authenticity. A good rule of thumb is that we don’t know how Hawaiian words should sound unless we hear them. 

I can’t emphasize it enough: listen to native speakers! There is a whole database available online of recordings and videos from the 70s to the 90s. There are hours upon hours of material. 

Here’s a place to start: 

Na Hulu Kupuna is a collection of 19 videos of native speakers, many of which were interviewed by one of my early mentors, Tuti Kanahele. 

Go listen now! Stay humble and stay consistent with learning the language. 

Na’u no,

Malu 

ka-alala.mykajabi.com