Hawaiian is an Austronesian language spoken by about 8,000 people on the Hawaiian islands. Hawaiian first appeared in writing in the early 19th century in a version of the Latin alphabet developed bymissionaries, who started to visit the Hawaiian islands from 1820 onwards.
Literacy among the Hawaiian people was widespread during the 19th century when Hawai'i was an independent kingdom. Dozens of Hawaiian language newspapers were published, together with Hawaiian translationsof religious works and novels and Hawaiian transcriptions of traditional stories.
After Hawaii was annexed by the USA in 1899, the Hawaiian language was banned from schools and went into rapid decline. By the 1980s, there was only about 2,000 Hawaiian speakers, most of whom were elderly.
In 1978 Hawaiian was made an official language of Hawaii, along with English, and since then there has been a revival of interest in the language. There are now several schools where most subjects are taught through the medium of Hawaiian and Hawaiian classes are popular at all levels of education.
Hear the pronunciation:
Download an alphabet chart for Hawaiian (Excel)
Hānau kū'oko'a 'ia nā kānaka apau loa, a ua kau like ka hanohano a me nā pono kīvila ma luna o kākou pākahi. Ua ku'u mai ka no'ono'o pono a me ka 'ike pono ma luna o kākou, no laila, e aloha kākou kekahi i kekahi.
A recording of this text by Tamati Taylor
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Information about Hawaiian | Phrases | Numbers | Family words | Tower of Babel |
Information about the Hawaiian language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_language
http://www.hawaiischoolreports.com/language.htm
Online Haiwaiian lessons
http://ksdl.ksbe.edu/kulaiwi/
iSpeak Hawaiian podcast
http://alter-native-tongue.podomatic.com/
Hawaiian phrases
https://www.hawaiian-words.com/common/
https://www.gohawaii.com/hawaiian-culture/hawaiian-language-guide
https://milepro.com/hawaiian-words-phrases-greetings/
Website of the ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi Language Program at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo - includes Hawaiian language lessons and information, and on online dictionary
http://www.olelo.hawaii.edu/
Ulukau - The Hawaiian Electronic library
http://ulukau.org/english.php
Online Hawaiian dictionaries
http://wehewehe.org
https://www.lexilogos.com/english/hawaiian_dictionary.htm
Learning Hawaiian Alone (E ola mau ka 'O-lelo Hawai'i!) a blog in Hawaiian by 'Analū
http://kaolelohawaii.blogspot.com
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 13.07.22
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