Preserve the Authenticity of the Hawaiian Language

Aloha mai kakou,

I know you’re excited about summer (I am too), and this time of year is the perfect time to practice Olelo Hawaii and develop your vocabulary.

Let’s, real quick, go over the things we talked about in May.

Native speakers have no problem expressing themselves, using only traditional Hawaiian vocabulary. We can improve our ability to speak the language by understanding that native speakers created words for new innovations and concepts by combining traditional Hawaiian words to describe them.

The Hawaiian Language Lexicon has come up with new words, which to a large extent, has created a communication gap with native speakers. We should be aware of this and perpetuate the use of traditional Hawaiian words in order to preserve the authenticity of the Hawaiian language.  

I know these are new concepts to our community but as we learn together with a desire to connect with Hawaiian heritage and teach the rising generations, these are important conversations to have and issues to be aware of.

Please listen to this! I still have people argue with me about the pronunciation of “Molokai”. I always respond the same way, “I’ve heard native speakers from Molokai pronounce it like this”, and then I pronounce it for them. Listen to how this native speaker pronounces it. I encourage you to follow this method with learning words and pronunciation.

Elizabeth Kalamakini Willig ( Tape 117)

Continue to Listen, Read, Write and Speak the Hawaiian language a little bit every day, and you will sound like a native speaker before you know it. 

Aloha,

Malu