Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 12, 1 December 1987 — "Hoʻolako" in its Proper Form [ARTICLE]

"Hoʻolako" in its Proper Form

By Haunani Bernardino Hawaiian Language Instructor Center for Hawaiian Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa

Paula Akana and KITV-4 are to be commended for their loving and thoughtful one-hour tribute to the aecomplishments of many Hawaiian people in our State. The program, whieh aired recently, is entitled "HO'OLAKO" and it joins the many other celebrations in our community proudly honoring the Year of the Hawaiian. It was a delight to hear about individuals who excel in the various Hawaiian art forms, yet who so often keep low profiles. I was moved also by the respect and care with whieh Akana prepared this special. Indeed, having watched "HO'OLAKO," viewers may have felt inspired to explore and develop their interests in Hawaiian art and craft forms. AU the more reason to spread the word.

Whatever "HO'OLAKO's" reception (and I bet it was most favorable), one can't help but reflect on the media's authority and responsibility to offer material whieh enhances and nurtures the well-being of the community, whether the format be audio, visual, printed, or a eombination. Underscoring that responsibility is the assumption, or rule of the trade, that the material is aeeurate. With respect to one Hawaiian art form; namely, the Hawaiian language, the media frequently falls short of upholding this assumption. A case in point is the mispronunciation of the word, "ho'olako." Whereas voice inflection appropriately goes up on the syllable, "la," mispronouncers typically inflect on "ko." Thus we hear the disconcerting sound of "ho'olaKO." Instead, we should be hearing "ho'oLAko." It is not entirely Akana's fault nor the media's that this word, whieh has been designated to celebrate the Ha-

waiian, is so awfully mistreated. Some of the shame must be borne by the community as well; specifically, by community representatives and planners of the Year of the Hawaiian celebrations who pass the mispronunciation on to the media, however unintentionally or uneonsciously.

For this reason both the community as well as the media share the responsibility of engaging in a process of self-scrutiny and self-check to confirm the accuracy of their information. We should be asking, for example, what "ho'olako" really means, how and why it was selected, and how it is pronounced. Does "ho'olako" really mean: "We are enriched?" According to the 1986 edition of the Hawaiian Dictionary "ho'olako" means: to supply, to equip, to provide, to furnish, to enrich (Puku'i-Elbert, p. 191). Knowledge of Hawaiian grammar tells us that in order to express the descriptive of being supplied, being equipped, being provided for, being furnished, and being enriched, we need to use either the stative form: "ua lako," or the passive form: "ua ho'olako

la. I herefore at best, hoolako by itself might be a eall for people to supply and equip themselves, as when they prepare for adverse weather and times of famine. Clearly then, simply using "ho'olako" to say we are enriched is not sufficient. Obviously there is more to understanding "ho'olako" than we thought, both in terms of its meaning and its pronunciation. At the same time, we need to see the value of confirming the accuracy of our information. T o be sure, all of us ean and should share in the satisfaction of enhancing and nurturing the well-being of our eommunity and its fine points. May we be inspired to nurture them all, remembering not to neglect the fine points of the Hawaiian language.