Hawaiian

Hawaiian is an Austronesian language. It is spoken by about 8,000 people on the Hawaiian islands. The language first appeared in writing in the early 19th century in a version of the Latin alphabet developed by missionaries, who visited the Hawaiian islands from 1820 onwards. From 1830 to the '50's the number of native speakers of Hawaiian gradually declined. Finally, in the 80's Hawaiian was essentially displaced by English. 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. Nowadays, there are also several schools where most subjects are taught in Hawaiian and the language is quite popular at all levels of education.

Map of Hawaiian language speakers.
Enlarge
Map of Hawaiian language speakers.
[edit]

Basic stats

Total speakers: 8,000

Main Countries: Hawaii

Alternate names: 'Olelo Hawai'i, 'Olelo Hawai'i Makuahine

ISO 639-3 Code: haw


[edit]

Language Sample

HÄ?nau kū’oko’a ‘ia nÄ? kÄ?naka apau loa, a ua kau like ka hanohano a me nÄ? pono kÄ«vila ma luna o kÄ?kou pÄ?kahi. Ua ku’u mai ka no’ono’o pono a me ka ‘ike pono ma luna o kÄ?kou, no laila, e aloha kÄ?kou kekahi i kekahi.

(Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1)


[edit]

Some proverbs in Hawaiian:

E noho iho i ke opu weuweu, mai ho`oki`eki`e
Remain among the clumps of grass and do not elevate yourself

Aloha mai no, aloha aku; o ka huhu ka mea e ola `ole ai
When love is given, love should be returned;anger is the thing that gives no life

Mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua
Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers

[edit]

Product Availability

The following products are currently available in Hawaiian:

  • For Consumers

(Coming soon)

[edit]

Sources

Retrieved from "http://ns2.eatoni.com/wiki/index.php/Hawaiian"
Page tools:      Content  [Comments]  [Printable version]