Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 7, 1 July 1993 — An immersion student speaks: Why the Hawaiian language is important to me [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

An immersion student speaks: Why the Hawaiian language is important to me

na Ku'uwainani Eaton He mea nui ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i ia'u, no ka mea, inā 'a'ole au i a'o ai i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i 'a'ole au e hiki ke 'ōlelo i ko'u kupuna kuakāhi a i nā 'a'ole wau i a'o i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i e make 'ana paha ia.

No laila laki nō ho'i wau, no ka mea, i kēia manawa ua hiki ia'u ke "ōlelo Hawai'i i ko'u kupuna kuakāhi mā mua 'o koaa hala 'ana. Ua le'ale'a loa ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i 'ana iā ia, E ho'omana'o ana wau i nā mea apau i 'ōleio 'ia i ka 'ōielo Hawai'i mā waena o māua. He mea nui ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, no

ka mea, inā 'a'ole i ho'omau 'ia ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i e make ana. A inā make 'ia ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i e

pōina 'ana 'ia nā mea Hawai'i a pau e iike me ka mākou mau kupuna Hawai'i a ka mākou 'āina. No laiia mana'o wau pono e ho'omau i ku 'ōlelo Hawai'i. 'O kēia ka'u mana'o e pili 'ana i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. 'A'ole pono mākou e pōina i ka 'ōlelo

Hawai'i, pono mākou e hō'ā'o e ho'omau i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. No laila e ho'omau a, "E ola mau ka 'ōleio Hawai'i."

by Ku'uwainani Eaton The Hawaiian language is very important to me because tf I didn't iearn how to speak the Hawaiian language I wouldn*t be

able to speak Hawaiian lo my great-grandmother. And if 1 d«dn't leam the Hawaiian lan-

guage it might have died. Weil, I just know that l am very lucky because 1 was able to speak Hawaiian to my greatgrandmotlier before she passed away. It was very fun and exciting speaking in Hawaiian to her. I wilJ always remeraber what my great-grandraother and 1 would talk about in Hawaiian. The Hawaiian language i> very important because if we didn't eominue the Hawaiian language it would have died. And if the Hawaiian language ancient Hawaiian things and our land would be forgotten. So 1 think that we should eontinue the Hawaiian language. WeJI, this is my thought about the Hawaiian Ianguage. We shouldn't forget the Hawaiian language and we should at !east try to eonlinue the Hawaiian language. So, "Let the Hawaiian language live."

Ku'uwainani Ealon recently eompleleō the sixth grade at Waiau Elementary.